Authorities Tuesday evening issued an immediate evacuation notice for all residents in the small city of Phoenix, just northwest of Ashland and near Medford along I-5 because of wildfire. The Oregon National Guard said Tuesday it had sent resources to five counties to help with fires.Ī grass fire in Ashland in southern Oregon closed down a section of Interstate 5, the main north-south freeway along the West Coast. Fire crews eventually helped 46 people escape that area, the fire marshal said.Īs winds shift and slow Thursday, authorities hope to take a more “offensive approach” and assess damage.Īuthorities evacuated three prisons in Salem due to wildfire threats, sending about 1,400 inmates to the Oregon State Penitentiary.ĭuring the last two weeks there have been 3,000 firefighters on the ground battling blazes in Oregon. Near a fire burning east of Eugene, Oregon, people were unable to evacuate for a time Tuesday because of roads blocked by fire and debris, according to the Oregon State fire marshal. The Lions Head fire in north-central Oregon and the Santiam Canyon fire east of Salem had burned 200,00 (80,930 hectares) acres so far, Brown said.įire officials said their priority is evacuating people and protecting lives. “This is proving to be an unprecedented and significant fire event for our state, and frankly for the entire West Coast,” Brown said. At a news conference she said initial reports show some blazes may have been caused by downed power lines. Kate Brown approved an emergency conflagration declaration that freed up state resources for several wildfires that exceed the capabilities of local crews. Over 40,000 people south of Portland were without power. In Oregon, thousands of people were without power as crews battled large fires in Clackamas County Tuesday. The high winds and dry fuels in the Northwest are similar to conditions in California, where thousands of firefighters are battling dozens of fires around the state. ”We had 58 new wildfire starts in the last 24 hours.″įranz said the high winds grounded many firefighting airplanes and helicopters on Monday, making it impossible to knock down fires when they first ignited. “As of this morning, we have 9 large fires,″ Franz tweeted.
Washington Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz said thousands of people were impacted by the fires, but there appeared to be no deaths or injuries.
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