A wildfire in Douglas County, Oregon, had burned 6,000 acres as of the morning of July 31 and forced evacuations in the area.
Advertisement
The Stouts Creek Fire in southwest Oregon, fueled by high temperatures, has spread to about 17 square miles, the Oregon Department of Forestry reports.
More than 800 firefighters are now battling the fire, compared to 450 on Friday.
Evacuations have been ordered for 188 homes.
The crisis shelter established by the American Red Cross is relocating from the elementary school to the Canyonville YMCA located at 330 Sabbath Way, Canyonville.
Gov. Kate Brown has also invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act so resources from around the state can be mobilized to protect homes. All Level 3 evacuations have been reduced to Level 2.
ODF will be holding a community meeting at 7 p.m. today at the Glide fire department, 18910 N Umpqua Highway.
Fire managers and structure protection teams continue evaluating the wildland-urban interface zones and preparing the areas to help blunt the fire if it reaches these areas. The leadership of ODF Team 3 shared critical information with community members and responded to their questions and concerns.
The Stouts Fire has displayed extreme fire conditions and is growing quickly, according to officials. Wildland firefighters continue building control lines between the fire and the community, but the terrain is steep and the heavy fuel load is proving hard, so contingency plans to protect the community are being developed. Level 3 (Go) evacuations were in place for residents in the Azalea area from Upper Cow Creek to Snow Creek East, but fire officials announced Sunday afternoon that the evacuation level was dropped to 2 for these areas.
Evacuation Level 1 (Ready) is in place for the Milo Academy area.
Advertisement
In addition, Industrial Fire Precaution Level IV is in effect throughout the Douglas District that prohibits forest operations due to extreme fire danger.
