The Milepost 97 Fire burning south of Canyonville remains just under 9,000 acres and is now 5% contained.
The latest update from the Oregon Department of Forestry said strong winds, high temperatures and low humidity contributed to another day of very active fire behavior on Saturday. Joe Touchstone said ground crews worked to establish fire line where the terrain and conditions allowed, while being supported by a number of air resources. The fire is burning within a fire scar from 1987 which is filled with hazardous snags and overgrown brush.
Touchstone said shifting winds caused the fire to spot across Interstate Five near the Turkey Creek/milepost 94 area late Saturday afternoon. Both air and ground crews responded immediately and to work on containing the fire starts.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office updated the evacuation levels in the fire area. DCSO issued a Level 2 “Get Set” evacuation level for all residences on the west side of the freeway in a five-mile area between mileposts 88 and 83. That includes Barton Road, Azalea-Glen Road, Old Booth Lane, Harrel Lane, Hobbs Lane, Fortune Branch Road on the Azalea-Glen side, Forrest Road, Realty Road, Quines Creek Road, and Mobley Drive.
In addition, all residences off of Upper Cow Creek Road starting at Interstate Five at milepost 88 east to the base of Galesville Dam are at Level 2.
A Level 1 “Be Ready” notice was issued for all residents living on Windy Creek Road at and above Woods Creek Road. Level 1 is also in place for Barton Road south to Glendale Junction Road.
A community fire information meeting will take place Sunday evening at 7:00 p.m. at Glendale High School. The incident commander, operations personnel, staff from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and others will be available to answer questions.
931 firefighters are working on the Milepost 97 Fire along with 15 aircraft. 586 structures are threatened by the fire which has cost $2.1 million to fight since it began on Wednesday night.