As Oregon finishes its first month of the year in fire season, the east side of Lane County battles flames.
On July 3, the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) announced that all districts are in fire season. As of July 23, Lane has seven fires over 100 acres in the area, including the Lane 1 Fire which has a Level 1 evacuation notice.
In the morning of July 23, Lane County Sheriff’s Office announced a Level 1 (Be Ready) evacuation notice for the Brice Creek area, which is east of Cottage Grove. The notices stated that areas east of Disston starting at Brice Creek Road milepost 0.7 and following Brice Creek Road south are in the Level 1 notice.
The Lane 1 Fire was reported at 768 acres with 10% containment on July 23. According to the Watch Duty app, there is potential for the fire to merge with a fire on Adams Mountain and a recommended evacuation notice for the Cedar Creek Campground. The fire was reported as roughly 20 miles southeast of Cottage Grove.
The Watch Duty app is available to monitor fires in the area. The app is run by retired firefighters, dispatchers, first responders, and journalists working together to monitor radio scanners to provide notices to keep users alert on any fire danger.
Other major fires in the county include the Chalk Fire at 6,175 acres and 0% containment about 17 miles north of Oakridge according to Watch Duty. The app also reported an evacuation recommendation of North Fork Segment #2 Trailhead area at 7:30 on July 23.
The Clark 900 Fire was 437 acres and the containment is unreported as of 7 p.m. July 21 according to the app. It is located about 25 miles southeast of Cottage Grove.
The Horse Heaven Creek Fire was reported at 621 acres, with no containment reported, on July 22. This fire is approximately 20 miles southwest of Oakridge.
Ore Fire was reported at 645 acres, with no containment reported by the app. The fire is about 50 miles northeast of Springfield and seven miles northeast of Blue River. It has caused closures on Buck Mountain Trail, Tidbits South and West Trail, Gold Hill Trail, Mona Campground, Lookout Campground, and Saddle Dam Boat Launch.
Jack Saddle Fire was reported at 706 acres with 30% containment on July 22 from the Watch Duty app. The fire is near Silica Mountain about 35 miles southeast of Cottage Grove.
Lastly, the Watch Duty app reported a fire titled “No Man Fire” that is north of Chilcoot Mountain. The fire was at 203 acres with containment unreported and unmanned as of July 22. The location is about 40 miles southeast of Cottage Grove.
