Heat tests crews on 2 big SW Oregon wildfires

Crews were battling more hot, tough conditions Saturday as they fought to contain two large southwest Oregon wildfires that erupted in recent days

“This is a tough fire,” ODF Team 1 Incident Commander John Buckman explained Saturday morning from the Stouts Fire incident command post. “Because of the challenging terrain and abundant, dry fuel – large standing and downed trees – we have difficult work ahead to suppress this fire but I know these crews can do it.”

The crews on the fire east of Canyonville are Facing difficult weather — historically high temperatures and low relative humidity — and quick growth to about 8,500 acres since its start Thursday.

The drought created unusually dry forests prone to fast-spreading fires. On Friday, the fire grew 2,000 acres to the south and east.

The combined structural and wildland firefighting team of over 800 firefighters will split responsibilities, based on their expertise. The Oregon State Fire Marshal Green Team and ODF Team I are operating under a “unified command” to coordinate the structural and wildland firefighting efforts.

While the city or structural firefighters work with homeowners to help prevent harm to their homes if the fire reaches them, the wildland firefighters will continue working to contain the fire and keep it from spreading to the neighborhoods.

“The Douglas Forest Protective Association and the Umpqua National Forest gave us specific direction to suppress the fire and be safe,” said OSFM Green Team’s Incident Commander Ted Kunze. “It’s great to see the teams partnering with the communities to protect our forests and the people living near them.”

On Friday, t he Douglas County Sheriff’s Office issued a Level 3 (Go) evacuation for residents in the Azalea area from Upper Cow Creek to Snow Creek East. There is a Level 2 (Set) evacuation for residents near the Galesville Dam up to Snow Creek.

For the residents on Ferguson Lane, Stouts Creek and Conley Lane, the level of evacuation was reduced to Level 2. The Red Cross set up an evacuation shelter at the Canyonville YMCA.

Fire managers and structure protection teams continue evaluating the wildland-urban interface zones and preparing the areas to help blunt the fire if it reaches these areas. That includes the Milo, Tiller, Azalea, and Crew communities, in addition to the homes under Level II and III evacuations.

Governor Kate Brown invoked the Conflagration Act late Thursday to bring structural firefighters in from around the state to help protect the neighborhoods close to the fire.

The OSFM Office quickly mobilized statewide resources including task force teams from Clackamas, Lane, Linn/Benton, Lincoln, Marion and Yamhill counties to work with the Green Team.

Meanwhile, here’s Saturday night’s update on the Cable Crossing Fire east of Glide .

What is happening on the Cable Crossing Fire and what do these evacuation orders mean?

These questions were on the minds of over 300 community members who attended a standing-room-only meeting Saturday at the Glide Fire Station. The leadership of ODF Team 3 shared critical information with community members and responded to their questions and concerns.

Saturday afternoon, the Cable Crossing Fire responded to the predicted extreme afternoon weather conditions and crossed containment lines on the south end of the fire. Firefighters re-engaged on safer portions of the fire to establish additional containment lines while aircraft dropped water and retardant to slow the fire’s spread.

Sunday ‘s tactics call for strengthening existing fire line and burning out when conditions allow.

Firefighters faced extreme conditions again Saturday. A Red Flag Warning was in place and, as predicted, resulted in another very active day of fire behavior. The fire remains 15 percent contained and has burned 1,148 acres.

In the Ready, Set, Go or 1, 2, 3 evacuation level system, a Level 1 “Ready” notification remains in place from the Peel Store to the Wolf Creek Trail Head on Little River Road.

Private forest landowners have closed their holdings to the public, The federal Bureau of Land Management has also imposed a fire area closure. Highway 138 remains open. Forest roads remain closed in and around the fire area.

In addition, Industrial Fire Precaution Level IV is in effect throughout the Douglas District that prohibits forest operations due to extreme fire danger. Public use restrictions, such as campfires, mowing of dry grass and off-road driving have also been tightened.

More than 1,200 firefighters are working on the Cable Crossing Fire, and the causes of both southwest Oregon fires are under investigation.

For information on both fires, visit InciWeb’s Oregon page at http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/state/38/