A cool and humid start to the weekend helped thousands of firefighters across Oregon make progress against massive wildfires burning across parts of Oregon.
From Friday to Sunday, firefighters made slow but incremental progress against some major blazes, including the Riverside fire near Estacada, which went from 11% to 20% contained.
The Holiday Farm fire east of the Eugene-Springfield area went from 12% to 14% contained. The Lane County Sheriff’s Office lowered the evacuation orders in some areas to allow some residents along Highway 126 to return home. But the sheriff’s office warned residents to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice if fire conditions flared up again.
Recent rains have cleared up air quality across most of the state, and even around the immediate vicinity of the fires, the air was much clearer. That has enabled crews, in some cases, to fly over scorched areas to evaluate the fires or use helicopters to dump giant buckets of water on the blazes.
Officials again pleaded with the public not to fly drones over or near the fires because that interferes with the ability of fire crews to fly.
Firefighting conditions are expected to worsen slightly Sunday through Tuesday, as the sun shines and dries out the land across much of western Oregon. But rains are expected to hit the northern Willamette Valley Wednesday through Saturday.
Precipitation is expected Wednesday and Thursday from Eugene down south to the California border.
Here are updates on some of the major fires burning across Oregon, including how much they’ve grown from Saturday to Sunday:
***
Riverside fire
Location: Near Estacada
Size: 137,880 acres
Growth: 15 acres
Containment: 20%
Cause: Human
Better visibility: Crews have been able to fly over the fire. Infrared scans show the fire’s perimeter is still hot, and firefighters are continuing to work to contain the fire from spreading further.
Meeting Sunday at 6 p.m.: A virtual meeting will be held at Fb.com/RiversideFireInfo. A recording of the meeting, with captions, will be posted later at https://tinyurl.com/RiversideFireInfoVideos.
Information: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7174/ or 509-228-7805.
***
Beachie Creek fire
Location: Mostly southern Clackamas County and eastern Marion County
Size: 192,714 acres -- second largest in the state
Growth: 702 acres
Containment: 25%
Cause: Unknown
Focused efforts: “The primary focus Sunday and Monday will be putting firefighters directly on the fire lines and reinforcing those containment lines, contingency lines, and monitoring any hot spots to protect Marion and Clackamas Counties, especially on the Western edge, including Greg’s Corner, Silver Falls State Park, and to the north, Corbet’s Corner,” reads a news release.
Roads still closed: The Marion County Sheriff’s Office said North Fork Road and Gates Hill Road will remain closed for now and residents of these areas won’t be able to return home yet because of hazardous conditions, including falling trees and rocks, spot fires, downed power lines and damaged culverts and bridges.
Information: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7001/ or 541-583-0526 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
***
Holiday Farm fire
Location: East of Eugene and Springfield
Size: 173,025 acres
Growth: 0 acres
Containment: 14%
Cause: Unknown
Evacuation levels reduced: The Level 3 “Go Now” evacuation order for Highway 126 from Camp Creek Road to the McKenzie Ranger Station has been lowered to a Level 2 “Be Set” warning. That means residents can return to their homes if they can access them through open road. About 22 miles of Highway 126 is still closed from Leaburg Dam Road to McKenzie River Drive.
A Level 2 warning from the McKenzie River Ranger Station east to the junction of Highway 126 and Highway 20 has been reduced to a Level 1 “Be Ready” advisory.
Information: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7170/
***
Lionshead fire
Location: Near Warm Springs
Size: 198,763 acre -- the largest in the state
Growth: 532 acres
Containment: 10%
Cause: Lightning
Information: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7049/ or 971-277-5075, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
***
Archie Creek fire
Location: Northeast of Roseburg
Size: 131,591 acres
Growth: 1,163 acres
Containment: 38%
Cause: Under investigation
Rain helped: Between half an inch to an inch of rain has aided fire suppression efforts over the past two days, fire officials said. That has allowed crews to get close to the edge of the fire with hand tools and heavy equipment. But “sunnier, warmer and drier weather, which will begin to dry live and dead vegetation” will likely result in a more active fire, a news release about the fire said Sunday.
Evacuations: Some evacuation warnings were reduced from Level 2 to Level 1 or from Level 1 to no advisory.
Information: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7176/ or 971-334-7674 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Wildfire tracker: See all fires in Oregon and across the nation
-- Aimee Green: agreen@oregonian.com; @o_aimee
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September 21, 2020 at 05:02AM
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Cool temps help the battle against Oregon wildfires: Sunday updates - OregonLive
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