KERBY, Ore. (AP) — Two men were arrested Thursday as protests continued at the Fiddler timber sale in Southern Oregon.

Liam O’Reilly of Ashland and Gordon Gilbrook of San Diego were charged with disorderly conduct and interfering with agricultural process, authorities said. They were booked at the Josephine County Jail.

Forty-eight arrests have been made at the sale in less than three weeks. O’Reilly has been arrested twice.

Rich Parrett was driving a log truck early Thursday when he spotted Gilbrook in the middle of the road. The activist was suspended 20 feet high in a platform below two poles anchored to a Volvo.

A banner below the platform read “These forests need fire, not old-growth tree removal.”

By 7 a.m., at least 10 law enforcement officers had arrived, along with more than two dozen activists.

O’Reilly was arrested for attempting to block timber cutters from driving through.

Timber cutters were able to get around the blockade in small vehicles, but the larger log trucks were idled for a few hours, Parrett said.

Marty Hertler of Marty’s Tree Service brought a boom truck to the scene, and talked Gilbrook into leaving the platform, which was then dismantled, said Tom Lavagnino, spokesman for the Siskiyou National Forest.

The salvage of timber burned in the 2002 Biscuit fire has been contentious since the U.S. Forest Service announced plans to harvest 370 million board feet on about 20,000 acres.

Opponents believe it’s best to let nature take its course, while the Forest Service says the harvest of dead timber will help speed recovery.

After two weeks of timber falling, logs began heading to the mill this week.

The only other protester still in jail is 72-year-old Joan Norman of Cave Junction, who has refused to accept bail, according to Laurel Sutherlin, an activist representing the Oxygen Collective.

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Information from: Daily Courier, http://www.thedailycourier.com