1,600 firefighters on Stouts Fire; cost hits $4.4 million

Good progress was reported Tuesday by the day shift battling the the 17,166-acre Stouts Creek Fire, burning in rugged, densely forested country 16 miles east of Canyonville in Douglas County.

Hoses were being strung down the miles-long western flank of the fire and mop-up was underway in that part of the fire.

Mop-up was also continuing along the northern edge of the fire. Crews on the east and south flanks were punching in fire line with bulldozers and other heavy equipment. In areas where equipment could not be used, fire line was being dug by crews.

The evacuation levels in the Upper Cow Creek Rd. area, Milo and Drew remained at Level 2 (Set). A small area along the Tiller-Trail Highway north of Trail in Jackson County is under a Level 1 (Ready)evacuation alert.

The Stouts Creek Fire is burning on private timberlands, other tracts of private land, Bureau of Land Management and Umpqua National Forest lands.

The fire is 10 percent contained. Nearly 1,600 personnel are assigned to the fire, and crews are working day and night shifts.

The cost of the fire suppression effort to date is $4.4 million.

Spot fires along the east and southeast flanks of the fire today prompted action from several of the helicopters assigned to the fire. They dropped water onto the spot fires and crews worked to keep them as small as possible.

Elsewhere, as crews completed stretches of fire lines, burnouts were conducted to consume unburned vegetation on the ground between the fire lines and the edge of the wildfire. Night shift crews will continue fire line construction and burn out in portions of the south and east flanks.

The Stouts Creek Fire is being managed cooperatively by the Oregon Department of Forestry, the Office of the Oregon State Fire Marshal, and the U.S. Forest Service. Wildland fire suppression direction is coming from the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Incident Management Team 1. Structural fire protection is being handled by task forces under the command of the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Green Team.

For the latest on the wildfires in Oregon, including new lightning-sparked blazes in Crater Lake National Park, visit: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/state/38/