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Oregon wildfires: Governor declares emergency, calls situation ‘dangerous’ (live updates)
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has declared a wildfire emergency in Oregon, where fire in the Santiam Canyon forced evacuations and wildfires elsewhere sent thick smoke across western Oregon, from Mount Hood to Lincoln County.
In a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Brown addressed the blazes, along with officials from the state’s health authority, fire marshal’s office, department of forestry and office of emergency management.
“This is proving to be an unprecedented and significant fire event for our state," Brown said.
Fires have prompted evacuations and emergency responses throughout the state, said Doug Grafe of the Oregon Department of Forestry. Grafe said there are currently significant fires near Klamath Falls, Medford, Southeastern Oregon, Lane and Lincoln counties. Near the Portland metro area, there are also fires burning near Washington County’s Hagg Lake and in Clackamas County.
Around 8 p.m., some Portland news stations reported that smoke was closing in on the city.
North of the Oregon border, fire units were dispatched to a grass and brush fire on the western edge of Vancouver near Fruit Valley Road, just after 2:30 p.m., Deputy Fire Marshal Dean Bray said.
Santiam fire and Lionshead fire
According to the governor, the Santiam fire, along with the Lionshead fire, have burned an estimated 200,000 acres so far. As of 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Santiam fire had been 0% contained. According to Inciweb, a fire-tracking information system, the Lionshead fire was 31% contained.
The Santiam fire was previously called the Beachie Creek fire, according to Rudy Owens, a spokesperson for the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s office.
Earlier Tuesday, Marion County commissioners declared a state of emergency as frightening videos show structures burning in Mill City.
Evacuated areas for the Santiam fire include: residents living in the canyon from the community of Mehama east to Detroit— including Mill City, Gates, Detroit, the North Fork corridor, Scotts Mills and south through the Crooked Finger area—were told to leave immediately. Evacuation orders were expanded early Tuesday to include the area west of the Mehama community to Cascade Highway Southeast and north to Highway 214.
Residents on standby: residents of Stayton, Sublimity, Aumsville, Silverton, Highway 213 west of Mt. Angel and Silverton to Drakes Crossing were told to be ready to go.
As of 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office had not included any new evacuations.
More than 100 families from the Santiam Canyon had gathered at the Oregon State Fairgrounds to escape the encroaching fire and wait for news about their loved, friends, homes and livestock, according the Salem Reporter.
David Driver, 82, and his wife Caroline, 74, left their home in Gates, packing the deeds to the house and taking a car and a van. David Driver said he assumed the house he built in 1995 had burned. That leaves the couple with an uncertain future, he said.
“I’m just too old to do that again,” Driver told the newspaper.
More than 4,000 people live in towns and homes around Santiam Canyon, along which Oregon 22 winds and curves through Cascades foothills between the Mehama-Lyons area east past the tiny hamlet of Idanha — a stretch of some 30-plus miles in Marion County. It includes Detroit Lake, a popular outdoor recreation area near Mt. Jefferson and about a two-hour drive southeast of Portland.
Ashley Specht, 29, of Mill City said a neighbor’s pounding on the front door roused her out of bed about 11:30 p.m. Monday night.
The growing fire had just consumed the old elementary in Gates, a small town about three miles east of their Kingwood Avenue homes, the neighbor told her.
Specht, her boyfriend, her two children, ages 6 and 4, and their three dogs were on the road within a half hour, she said.
They’re now staying with her aunt in Sweet Home, about 45 miles away.
“I took what we could,” Specht said. “Our urns that have family in them. Some clothes. We didn’t grab the dog food or any important paperwork."”I was super emotional," she continued.
The fire has since made its way to Mill City, home to about 2,000 people.
Specht said she learned Tuesday that Kelly’s Lumber Sales, a hardware and building supplies store, and Rosie’s Mountain Coffee House both burned to the ground.
Other businesses, including a Subway and 7-Eleven, remain standing — at least for now.
Specht’s home also remains untouched and she’s been able to monitor it using her Ring doorbell, which provides a video feed from the front porch to her phone.
“I check it frequently,” she said. “The only thing that’s moved is my garbage can. I’m really, really hopeful that we won’t lose everything.”
Holiday Farm fire
Several evacuation orders are also in effect in Lane County as a result of the Holiday Farm fire, which is also being called the McKenzie fire. The Lane County Board of Commissioners held an emergency meeting Tuesday and declared a local emergency.
Lane County Administrator Steve Mokrohisky said to expect a loss of life from the fire. The fire, which has now burned approximately 37,000 acres, is still 0% contained. The cause of the fire is unknown. The fire has burned 80-100 houses in Blue River, Mokrohisky said he was told by fire responders. Mokrohisky said more homes are expected to burn.
Due to communications towers being damaged by fires, communication capability is limited in the area of the fire, according to the state fire marshal. Teams are working to restore communication capabilities. The fire traveled 13 miles overnight and is still moving west.
The Oregon State Fire Marshal issued an update on the Holiday Farm/McKenzie fire Tuesday evening that includes information current until 5:30 p.m.
Evacuations are still impacting the communities of Vida, Blue River, Mohawk, McKenzie Bridge, Leesburg, and Waterville.
Two shelters have been opened in Springfield. The Bob Keefer Center at 250 S. 32nd St. and Willamalane Adult Activity Center at 215 W. C St.
An email sent to Lane County employees first reported by the Eugene Weekly referred to the towns of Blue River and Vida as a “total loss,” with an estimate of 150 homes being burned.
Additionally, the email said at least one county employee has “lost a loved one to the fires.”
“We have lost the Goodpasture Covered Bridge, the Belknap Covered Bridge and likely the McKenzie Bridge and Vida transfer stations,” the email said. “Over 1,000 homes have been evacuated.”
Level 3 evacuation notice, or “GO NOW,” has been issued from Walterville Elementary east to the McKenzie Ranger Station, including all roads to the north and south.The updated evacuation point is Thurston High School for those in Blue River and west of Blue River. Those east of Blue River should travel east to the Deschutes County Fairgrounds in Redmond (3800 SE Airport Way).
Just after 6 p.m., Lane County officials issued a Level 3 Evacuation Notice for Upper Camp Creek Road and the Mohawk Valley from Wendling Road to the county line, including Wendling, Mohawk River and Mabel. A Level 3 Evacuation Notice has also been issued for the Mohawk Valley north of Marcola Road and Hill Road.
Complete evacuation information from Lane County officials is available at the county website.
Clackamas County fires
The Clackamas County fire department said on Thursday evening that any place in the county that is not at a Level 2 or 3 evacuation should consider themselves at evacuation Level 1 — meaning they should be ready for potential evacuation.
In Clackamas County, evacuation orders have been issued for huge swaths of the southwest and central areas of the county stretching nearly from Estacada on the north and along much of the Clackamas River, to the southern border of the county and west past the Marion County line. Evacuations are in place for Redland and Potter Road east of Oregon City, Unger Road in the Colton area, Wilhoit and Bird Road in the Molalla area and the Job Corps at Ripplebrook in the Mount Hood National Forest.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Clackamas county firefighters and other agencies were working on 15 vegetation fires throughout the county, according to a news release. The Riverside fire discovered Tuesday afternoon near the confluence of Trout Creek and the Clackamas River had burned approximately 10,000 acres, according to the county. Clackamas County commissioners held an emergency meeting earlier Tuesday to declare a state of emergency.
As of Tuesday evening, the entire city of Molalla, with a population of more than 9,000, and the surrounding area between Highways 211, 213 and South Macksburg Road, were on notice to be ready to evacuate.
Clackamas County fire officials also alerted the entire area from Highway 224 near Memaloose Road north to Southeast Mountain Cat Drive, including all of Estacada, to be ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice.
Estacada School District has closed all campuses through Friday to transition buildings to serve evacuees and others impacted by the fires, according to a news release. Meal delivery routes will continue through Friday and technology staff will be available to help families. Molalla River School District is closed and the start of school is postponed until Monday.
Powerline fire
In Washington County, the Powerline fire near Hagg Lake has prompted evacuations for residents of Dundee Road, Southwest Patton Valley Road, Southwest Lee Road and Southwest Cascara Road near Hagg Lake. The city of Cherry Grove has also been told to evacuate as of 1 p.m.
Southwest South Road between Northwest Mount Richman Road and the city of Cherry Grove has been placed on level 2 orders — meaning they should be ready to evacuate at any time.
Around 7 p.m., Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue reported that they were fighting a brush fire Washington County fire, at Northeast Neubebauer Road and Shine Drive. Several homes were threatened by the fire, and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said they were working on evacuating residents.
Glendower fire and Alameda fire
Evacuation orders are in effect for certain places in Coos and Jackson Counties.
All of Jackson County is under Level 1 evacuation because of nearby fires.
Around 6:30 p.m., the governor invoked the emergency conflagration act for the Alameda fire, one of the two fires burning in Jackson County. That blaze is affectin g the cities of Talent, Phoenix and Medford, and homes and structures in the area are under Level 3 evacuation.
At 7:30PM, updated evacuation orders were issued for Medford and the surrounding areas as a fire burned through Phoenix and approached the edge of Medford city limits.
A Level 3 evacuation order is in effect for South Pacific Highway to South Stage Road towards Kings Highway and Stewart Avenue. A Level 3 evacuation order remained in effect in Phoenix from Fern Valley to Grove Road on the east side and west side from exit 24 North to Glenwood Estates, according to the city of Medford Facebook account.
A Level 2 evacuation was issued west to Griffin Creek Road, north to McAndrews Road, and East to McAndrews Road to Foothill Rd. A Level 2 evacuation order remained in effect north to East Barnett Road and Highway 99 to north Phoenix.
A local television station captured footage of the Glendower fire burning in Phoenix on Tuesday evening.
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