2,000-acre Elk Fire in Klamath County forces evacuations; state fire marshal sends five task forces
BONANZA, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Oregon State Fire Marshal is mobilizing several structural task forces and its Red Incident Management Team to the Elk Fire burning about eight miles north of Bonanza in southern Klamath County.
The fire was reported Tuesday morning, quickly grew to about 2,000 acres, and is threatening homes and critical infrastructure. The Klamath County Sheriff’s Office has levels 1, 2, and 3 evacuation notices in place for those living near the fire.
The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for the area through Wednesday evening, with dry conditions and temperatures in the mid to upper 90s expected through the coming week.
The Oregon State Fire Marshal is sending five task forces. Two will arrive Wednesday evening and three more will arrive early Thursday morning. The Red Incident Management Team will be in unified command with the Oregon Department of Forestry Incident Management Team 1 and will be briefed on Wednesday evening.
“This latest round of lightning and continued dry conditions in Southern Oregon has kept the Oregon fire service and our wildland partners extremely busy,” State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said. “The extended forecast is not going to provide any relief. Please pay attention to our critical wildfire conditions and take the necessary steps to prevent sparking a human-caused fire.”
The American Red Cross has set up an evacuation shelter at:
Living Springs Church
31897 Mission Street, Bonanza, OR 97623
The latest evacuation information and map can be found here (https://protect.genasys.com/search). The South Central Oregon Fire Management Partnership is providing fire updates.
This is the fourth time the Emergency Conflagration Act has been invoked this year.
The Oregon Department of Forestry has deployed Incident Management Team 1 (IMT 1) to the Klamath-Lake District to manage the Elk Fire in the Bly Mountain area. This is the second ODF IMT deployment in the last 24 hours.
After multiple days of lightning strikes in the area, the firefighters in the Klamath-Lake District have been working non-stop. In support of the district, ODF IMT 1 will take over the Elk Fire so that local resources may focus on extinguishing new ignitions and smaller fires in the district.
“Our firefighters have been all hands on deck after 10 straight days of lightning, which has stretched our local resources thin,” ODF Klamath-Lake District Forester Teresa Williams said. “With the help of ODF IMT 1, we’ll be able to regroup, reassign resources and continue protecting our communities from wildfire.”
