QUICK RESPONSE CONTAINS ALDER SLOPE BLAZE

Quick response by firefighters from four agencies kept a fire at an old collapsed ranch building from spreading to nearby timber today, Sept. 2.

Firefighters staffing six engines and three water tenders attacked the blaze, first reported as a grass fire, on rural Century Road between Joseph and Enterprise.

Responding were Joseph and Enterprise fire departments, the Oregon Department of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service.

Among Joseph firefighters on the scene was Assistant Chief Matt Walker, a Wallowa Lake resident. Joseph Firefighters Dirk Wiggins and Doug Buska responded from the lake to stand by at the Joseph fire station in case of a second emergency in the area.

Cause of the fire is undetermined, but the blaze served as a reminder of the high fire danger throughout Wallowa County. "If there had been any wind, it would have gone up into the timber and been a big fire," noted Enterprise Fire Chief Paul Karvoski.