Warm Springs fire: 4 homes lost, but 300 saved
The County Line 2 Fire in Warm Springs is now at 62,000 acres and 43 percent containment, officials said as evacuation levels dropped again for most areas. But another, impressive number was out Wednesday – about 300 homes were saved from a “firestorm” during the early hours of the blaze.
Fire officials have secured a strong line on the east side of the fire and feel there is little threat to structures at this point. Evacuation levels were dropped to level 1, except for Tenino Road, which remains on Level 2, meaning be ready to leave quickly..
Last Thursday, the day after the fires began, the situation looked very different. Hundreds of homes were threatened by flames that made it into many backyards.
“I just got off work, and the fire was coming,” Warm Springs resident Easton Aguilar recalled Tuesday.
It happened so fast, officials did not even have time to increase the evacuation level from a 2 to a 3 and direct people out.
“They had a good firestorm coming at them,” said Justin De Ruyter, information officer with the Oregon State Fire Marshal Incident Management Team.
Looking at the aftermath, it seems like a miracle that only four structures were lost in the blaze, and none of them were occupied.
If it hadn’t been for the crews, it would have only taken about 40 minutes for a very different outcome.
“Some of them would have been saved, but I think you would have seen the majority of these houses lost,” De Ruyter said.
Officials estimate they saved at least 300 homes. Some buildings were damaged, and one family had their bedroom go up in flames.
The community escaped the worst, in some cases by just a few inches.
“I’m really thankful for all the firefighters that were here to protect the houses,” said Warm Springs resident Tim Wainanwit.
On Tuesday, the fire was moving away from structures towards timber, and the thick smoke is a reminder that the community is not out of the woods just yet.
Here’s the Wednesday morning update on the County Line 2 Fire:
Fire managers and representatives from the Warm Springstribe determined that although the Tenino Rd remains under Level II evacuation notice, thethreat to structures has decreased enough that the OSFM Blue Team and associated resources have been released from the fire as of this morning.
Approximately300 homes were saved from destruction in the fire storm that occurred during the initial phase of this incident, partly because of theearly request and quick response of outside resources to the incident, but mostly from thecoordinated efforts and hard work between both wildland and structural firefighters assigned to the fire.
The Oregon Incident Management Team #1 (Shawn Sheldon, IC) will continue to manage the County Line 2 Fire.
Smoke that can be seen in the early morning and late afternoon does not necessarily mean there are new fires or that this fire is burning hotter. Monitoring of areas around West Hills continue. There are still pockets of unburned fuels in the interior of the fire that will most likely smoke until a rain weather event.
On Tuesday, crews worked on the southwest corner of fire around Shitike Canyon. This area still has heavy fuels, including timber. Construction continues on a containment line across the west edge of Shitike Canyon. Crews are concentrating to secure fire 2 miles east of Shitike Butte Lookout.
Crews continue to patrol and mop-up hot spots throughout the fire as well as scout, construct new line and improve existing line.
The fire will receive two Type II Initial Attack crews today. Crews will be adding a swing shift that will run 10:00am through 10:00pm to cover the anticipated burning activity.
Today’s weather is forecasted to be Red Flag Warning which will continue through Friday. This could mean critical fire behavior with possible erratic winds. Firefighters call this a real “Heads-Up” day.
Everyone should monitor any actions that could cause fires, especially during the upcoming days.
The Red Cross continues to maintain a shelter at the Warm Springs Community Center.
