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ENLARGE
Tracy Martindale of the Cottege Grove district keeps watch of a purposefully set back burning fire to help keep the main fire from crossing highway 138 at the Williams Creek fire Thursday.
By the numbers ....
Williams Creek Fire, as of 10 p.m. Saturday:
• 3,250 acres burnt, cause still under investigation
• 20 percent contained
• 1 evacuation call to the Steamboat Inn on Saturday, about six people were asked to leave the area
• 957 total staff
• 8 miles of Highway 138 closed between mileposts 37 and 29
• 86 degrees and 37 percent humidity on Saturday
• 6 days until estimated containment on Aug. 7
Source: www.InciWeb.org
• 3,250 acres burnt, cause still under investigation
• 20 percent contained
• 1 evacuation call to the Steamboat Inn on Saturday, about six people were asked to leave the area
• 957 total staff
• 8 miles of Highway 138 closed between mileposts 37 and 29
• 86 degrees and 37 percent humidity on Saturday
• 6 days until estimated containment on Aug. 7
Source: www.InciWeb.org
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ENLARGE
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Grzegorz Darda of the Diamond Lake district and fellow firefighters are burning out the fuel load with a controled fire around the Bogus Creek campground at the Williams Creek fire Thursday.
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Updated information from Sunday evening is available here.
GLIDE — Two soot stained yellow shirts were held out windows, drying the fire fighting gear in the wind as a truck drove past the Glide Community Center as a meeting about the nearby fire finished.
As of Saturday evening, more than 700 firefighters were working to contain the Williams Creek Fire that consumed 3,250 acres — an increase of 1,082 acres since Friday morning. The fire's growth prompted the evacuation of about a half dozen people from Steamboat Inn on Saturday. The eight-mile section of the Highway 138 East remains closed.
The Williams Creek Fire that began Tuesday is about 19 miles east of Glide.
Officials made guesses of anywhere from two to seven days for completing boundary lines, while worrying that predicted thunderheads Saturday night may create conditions for further growth.
According to InciWeb, the Incident Information System, the fire should be contained by Aug. 7.
Tom Lavagnino, fire information officer for the Oregon and California Interagency Incident Management Team (ORCA), told about 40 people gathered at the Saturday night meeting that the fire was roughly 20 to 25 percent contained.
However, he guessed another town meeting or two would be in store before the fire was out.
“We've got a long way to go before we corral this guy,” Lavagnino said, adding that the local blaze was currently the No. 1 priority fire in the U.S.
Allen Mitchell, ORCA operations commander, said the fire itself isn't pushing the line near Steamboat Inn, but precautions were taken and the evacuation was carried out in an orderly fashion.
Moore Hill Lane residents, prepped for an evacuation call since Thursday, were taken off standby Saturday as crews gained more control of the area near Milepost 33.
Red Cross has also taken two scheduled shelters in Glide off standby.
George Roth, of the Disaster Services for Red Cross' Oregon Pacific Chapter, said of the evacuees only one contacted them, but then went to a motel. Roth said others evacuated Saturday worked at the inn and resided outside of the fire's impact area.
Dennis Moore attended the Saturday meeting, taking the opportunity to speak with fire and Red Cross officials. Moore is the son of Frank and Jeanne Moore, both in their 80s, who live on Moore Hill Lane.
Moore said he believes his parents are feeling more reassured about the safety of their home, but added that the stress was taking its toll on their health.
“That house is 90 percent memorabilia,” he said. “I have a sister who died in the ‘70s and as we're going through things — finding pictures that she'd drawn in the past — that's been pretty emotional on mom.”
The blaze — surrounded on the north and west sides by Bureau of Land Management and privately owned lands under Douglas Fire Protective Association protection — slowed somewhat Saturday as temperatures dropped to the mid-80s and the anticipated Friday night thunderheads didn't occur.
Hot and challenging points are in the northeast corner, Mitchell said.
“The fire bumped the line pretty hard today,” he said, tapping a briefing map between two perimeter drop points on the east side. “Our overall strategy is to draw a big box and then we're looking for places to squeeze it.”
Ken Paul, ORCA incident commander, said that the road closure was being evaluated in cooperation with the Oregon Department of Transportation, but when he drove through Saturday he said rocks, trees and other debris from the fire still littered the road.
Mitchell said the closure, though an inconvenience to residents and visitors, is allowing fire crews better access.
Several ORCA members who spoke to the during the meeting were visiting Glide for a second consecutive summer, as they were present on the Rattle Fire last summer.
Lavagnino said the two forest fires were very similar in characteristics: Located on steep, roadless and largely inaccessible terrain, but the Williams Creek fire was lower in elevation.
• You can reach reporter DD Bixby at 957-4211 or by e-mail at dbixby@nrtoday.com.
As of Saturday evening, more than 700 firefighters were working to contain the Williams Creek Fire that consumed 3,250 acres — an increase of 1,082 acres since Friday morning. The fire's growth prompted the evacuation of about a half dozen people from Steamboat Inn on Saturday. The eight-mile section of the Highway 138 East remains closed.
The Williams Creek Fire that began Tuesday is about 19 miles east of Glide.
Officials made guesses of anywhere from two to seven days for completing boundary lines, while worrying that predicted thunderheads Saturday night may create conditions for further growth.
According to InciWeb, the Incident Information System, the fire should be contained by Aug. 7.
Tom Lavagnino, fire information officer for the Oregon and California Interagency Incident Management Team (ORCA), told about 40 people gathered at the Saturday night meeting that the fire was roughly 20 to 25 percent contained.
However, he guessed another town meeting or two would be in store before the fire was out.
“We've got a long way to go before we corral this guy,” Lavagnino said, adding that the local blaze was currently the No. 1 priority fire in the U.S.
Allen Mitchell, ORCA operations commander, said the fire itself isn't pushing the line near Steamboat Inn, but precautions were taken and the evacuation was carried out in an orderly fashion.
Moore Hill Lane residents, prepped for an evacuation call since Thursday, were taken off standby Saturday as crews gained more control of the area near Milepost 33.
Red Cross has also taken two scheduled shelters in Glide off standby.
George Roth, of the Disaster Services for Red Cross' Oregon Pacific Chapter, said of the evacuees only one contacted them, but then went to a motel. Roth said others evacuated Saturday worked at the inn and resided outside of the fire's impact area.
Dennis Moore attended the Saturday meeting, taking the opportunity to speak with fire and Red Cross officials. Moore is the son of Frank and Jeanne Moore, both in their 80s, who live on Moore Hill Lane.
Moore said he believes his parents are feeling more reassured about the safety of their home, but added that the stress was taking its toll on their health.
“That house is 90 percent memorabilia,” he said. “I have a sister who died in the ‘70s and as we're going through things — finding pictures that she'd drawn in the past — that's been pretty emotional on mom.”
The blaze — surrounded on the north and west sides by Bureau of Land Management and privately owned lands under Douglas Fire Protective Association protection — slowed somewhat Saturday as temperatures dropped to the mid-80s and the anticipated Friday night thunderheads didn't occur.
Hot and challenging points are in the northeast corner, Mitchell said.
“The fire bumped the line pretty hard today,” he said, tapping a briefing map between two perimeter drop points on the east side. “Our overall strategy is to draw a big box and then we're looking for places to squeeze it.”
Ken Paul, ORCA incident commander, said that the road closure was being evaluated in cooperation with the Oregon Department of Transportation, but when he drove through Saturday he said rocks, trees and other debris from the fire still littered the road.
Mitchell said the closure, though an inconvenience to residents and visitors, is allowing fire crews better access.
Several ORCA members who spoke to the during the meeting were visiting Glide for a second consecutive summer, as they were present on the Rattle Fire last summer.
Lavagnino said the two forest fires were very similar in characteristics: Located on steep, roadless and largely inaccessible terrain, but the Williams Creek fire was lower in elevation.
• You can reach reporter DD Bixby at 957-4211 or by e-mail at dbixby@nrtoday.com.
