August 2, 2021 4:00 p.m. 

Crews from the Douglas Forest Protective Association, rural fire departments, and industrial cooperators continue to work on numerous lightning related fires that ignited Sunday evening throughout the Douglas District.

Kyle Reed of DFPA said 20 fires have been located as of Monday afternoon with additional smoke reports expected in the coming days. Reed said 12 of the fires are staffed with boots on the ground firefighters. Additional resources are on order to assist with the remaining unstaffed fires. 4 helicopters, 2 Single Engine Air Tankers and a fixed wing recon aircraft are currently working on the fires. Reed said warm and dry conditions are expected over the area for the next several days before a dry cold front is forecasted to move through the area. He said that cold fronts passing through fire areas are “watch out” situations for firefighters, as they are typically associated with low relative humidity readings and strong, gusty winds.

*3 fires have been located southeast of Glide in the Cavitt Creek drainage, all of which have been contained. Crews are still engaged on these fires, mopping up hot spots and improving control lines.

*The remaining fires are in the South Umpqua River corridor between Canyonville and Tiller, in addition to the Upper Cow Creek area, east of Azalea. The two largest fires are the O’Shea Creek Fire and the Poole Creek Fire. The O’Shea Creek Fire is located three miles east of Canyonville and is estimated to be 20 acres in size. The Poole Creek Fire is located eight miles west of Tiller. It is estimated to be 10 acres. The other fires in this area range in size from a single struck tree to about 2 acres.

Reed said DFPA has ordered an Incident Management Team from the Oregon Department of Forestry to assist the district with suppression efforts. These fires will be referred to as the Skyline Ridge Complex. ODF is expected to take command of the fires on Tuesday morning.