The 13,400-acre, lightning-caused Douglas Complex fires are burning seven miles north of Glendale in Douglas County. The Douglas Complex fires were ignited by lightning from thunderstorms the morning of July 26. The Oregon Office of the State Fire Marshal is managing the fire jointly with ODF. Structural protection task forces mobilized through the Fire Marshal kept busy Sunday on the Dad’s Creek Fire as personnel worked among homes located along Reuben Road at the north end of the fire and to the south accessed from Mt. Reuben road. Structural protection crews worked in conjunction with helicopters and a bulldozer, building fire line to protect homes in the area.
Josephine County Sunday issued an evacuation order for residents living along Poorman Creek. Eight homes have been affected. Residents who have been evacuated can go to the American Red Cross Shelter that has been established at the Glendale Elementary School.
The Douglas Complex has been divided into three branches: Milo, on the east side of Interstate 5; Rabbit Mountain/Union Creek, on the west side of I-5, northwest of Glendale; and Dad’s Creek/Panther Butte, west of Glendale. The fires continue to burn actively on the east side of I-5. All fires in the complex have been staffed, with private industrial landowners and 11 aircraft assisting firefighters in suppression. There are no reports of any homes being burned.
Milo Branch - a group of smaller fires, each less than 20 acres in size. Firefighters will begin mopping up hot areas of each fire. Minimal fire activity is expected today for this branch.
Rabbit Mountain/Union Creek - Fire on this branch has grown in all directions. This branch is expected to burn actively again today. Firefighters will continue building fire line on the east flank of the fire, working towards the north.
Dad’s Creek/Panther Butte - The larger fire in this branch spread significantly to the south Sunday afternoon, growing on the eastern and western sides of Poorman Creek approximately 2-3 miles in either direction. Overnight, crews were able to take advantage of the cooler temperatures and higher humidity to build fire line and suppress any spot fires found in the area. The Fire Marshal’s Office will evaluate the fire situation to the south and west of this fire, determining what impact there will be to structures. The fire is expected to burn actively again today in the afternoon when the temperature increases and winds start to affect fire movement. Smoke and erratic winds may impact aviation operations. Areas around Glendale will see more smoke in the area, mostly during the morning hours.
Evacuations and Closures:
§ Cow Creek Road from Riddle into the fire area, and from Glendale into the fire has been closed. The public is asked to honor the road blocks and not interfere with firefighters working in the area.
§ Evacuations have been ordered for McCullough Creek Road, Reuben Road, and Mt. Reuben Road in Douglas County, and Poorman Creek Road in Josephine County.
§ An additional 400 residences are considered threatened. This means evacuations could be necessary at some point in the future. Any official evacuation orders will be issued by the Douglas County or Josephine Sheriff’s Offices.
Resources:
Resources fighting the complex fires include: 11 helicopters, 38 hand crews, 29 fire engines, two bulldozers and eight water tenders, with a total of 1,008 personnel staffing the complex.
Fire Information Meetings:
A community meeting is scheduled tonight at the Glendale Elementary School Gym, at 6:30 p.m. On Sunday a public meeting was held at the Glendale Elementary School with approximately 400 people attending.
The 1,649-acre, lightning-caused Whiskey Complex fires burning six miles east of Tiller on the Umpqua National Forest are uncontained. The three fires in the complex were reported July 26. For more information go to: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/3562/
The 700-acre, lightning-caused Labrador Fire is burning adjacent to the Illinois River 13 miles NW of Cave Junction near the community of Oak Flat. It was reported July 26. For more information go to: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/3563/
The 108-acre Browns Creek Fire burning near Browns Creek on Wickiup Reservoir is fully lined. The fire broke out Sunday and kept firefighters busy throughout the afternoon and evening. A local incident management team took command of the fire today, using federal, state and contract resources. Forest Road 42 remains closed today to allow for helicopter bucket drops on the fire without endangering public traveling on the road. Though firefighters have made good progress on the fire, evacuations of campers in the area remain in place today.
The 503-acre Davis Creek Fire reported July 28 burning in the John Day Unit of the Central Oregon District was fully lined the same day and is in mop-up. The fire is burning in grass and timber fuels. Cause is under investigation.
The 400-acre Labrador Fire burning west of the Illinois River downstream from Oak Flat on Bureau of Land Management lands protected by ODF is uncontained. The lightning-caused fire reported July 26 is burning in the old Biscuit Fire area, which contains a lot of downed, jackstrawed trees and heavy brush. Crews are continuing structural protection and indirect fire line preparation. Trail and road closures are in place.
FIRES BURNING ON OTHER LANDS
The 51,340-acre Sunnyside Turnoff Fire burning on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation at Eagle Butte Lookout is 95 percent contained. The fire was human caused. More information is available at: http://nwccweb.us/information/fire_info.aspx
FIRE STATISTICS
Fire statistics are for the current year and the average over the past 10 years for the 16 million acres of private and public forestland protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry.
January 1, 2013, through today:*
Lightning-caused fires: 83 fires burned 202 acres
Human-caused fires: 411 fires burned 2,475 acres
Total: 494 fires burned 2,677 acres
10-year average (Jan. 1 through the present date in the year):
Lightning-caused fires: 110 fires burned 5,372 acres
Human-caused fires: 325 fires burned 1,397 acres
Total: 435 fires burned 6,769 acres
Fire statistics can be accessed any time from the ODF website.
*When personnel are heavily engaged in firefighting activities, the latest information may not always appear in the statistics.
NEWS MEDIA
News media may call the Fire Information Duty Officer pager, 503-370-0403, 24/7 for fire information. The duty officer will call back promptly. Media may also call the Oregon Department of Forestry headquarters office, 503-945-7200, weekdays during business hours.
OTHER FIRE INFORMATION
For information on wildfires on all jurisdictions in Oregon, go to the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center website, or the national Incident Information System site.
ODF maintains a blog that includes breaking news on wildfires statewide, along with current fire statistics. The Southwest Oregon District maintains a blog with wildfire info specific to the region. In addition, the district provides a Twitter feed on fires as they occur.
ABOUT THIS UPDATE
This update focuses primarily on firefighting activity on Oregon Department of Forestry-protected lands involving fires 10 acres or larger in size or of other significance. It also reports on ODF’s actions as a partner in fighting major fires that start on lands protected by other agencies.
ODF is responsible for fire protection on private and state-owned forestland, and on a limited amount of other forestlands, including those owned by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in western Oregon. Because fires may cross ownerships, and because of the need to share firefighting resources, agencies work closely together.
