The Lane County Sheriff’s Office on Monday lifted the remaining Level 1 (Be Ready) evacuation notices in the Oakridge, Westfir and High Prairie areas. “With the rain over the weekend and the great progress that fire crews are making on the Cedar Creek Fire, we are able to lift the[Read More…]
Wildfires
Smoky skies, watery eyes
Cedar Creek wildfire begrimes Willamette Valley A thick cloud of haze has settled over the Southern Willamette Valley this week as emergency response crews combat the Cedar Creek Fire. The fire is located approximately an hour SE. of the valley, raging across 87,000 acres, 15 miles east of Oakridge and[Read More…]
Wildfires, 1 year later: Lucky to survive, grateful for help
Gregory and Sharon Poitra with their 5-year-old granddaughter Zelda. RON HARTMAN/CHRONICLE PHOTO EUGENE – Sharon Poitra told her young granddaughter they were going “Camping in the Car.” Since she was talking to a 4-year-old, she didn’t want to be brutally honest and say they were snowbound. That they didn’t know[Read More…]
Weather brings mixed bag for areas hit by wildfires
The sun can be seen behind the clouds and above City Hall, through the smokey haze, Thursday afternoon in Creswell, OR. The rain might be coming, but it’s bringing potential landslides and flooding with it. And air quality remained poor Thursday afternoon in the southern Willamette Valley. As of 4:45[Read More…]
McKenzie fires: No more donations to Silke Field; new location on Roosevelt Blvd
ERIN TIERNEY/THE CHRONICLE St. Vincent de Paul, United Way of Lane County and the Lane County Emergency Operations Center are partnering with the grassroots organizers of the donation center currently operating at Silke Field in Springfield to provide a long-term drop-off and sorting location in north Eugene. The new donations drop-off[Read More…]
Cottage Grove Bank Building offers free workspace for evacuees
COTTAGE GROVE — The Bank Building in downtown Cottage Grove is offering free office workspace for those recently evacuated from their homes or have lost power as a result of Oregon’s unprecedented wildfires. During this crisis, the Bank Building Offices – located at 609 E. Main Street in downtown Cottage[Read More…]
Hazardous conditions close transfer sites
Lane County Waste Management has temporarily closed several of its waste transfer stations due to hazardous air conditions, including: Creswell (34293 Cloverdale Rd., Creswell) London (73111 London Road, Cottage Grove) Rattlesnake (82572 Rattlesnake Rd., Dexter) Sharps Creek (74540 Sharps Creek Rd., Culp Creek) Walton (18585 Transformer Rd.) Low Pass (22377[Read More…]
Urgent: Volunteers needed at Silke Field
Silke Field, Springfield High School Officials leading the wildfire relief station at Silke Field at Springfield High School said there is an urgent need for more volunteers. All volunteers are asked to sign up in advance at mckenzieriver.org/volunteer. Please, officials stressed, do not show up without signing up. McKenzie River[Read More…]
PHOTOS: McKenzie fires: Firefighters save 100+ buildings; nearly 18k structures at risk
BOB WILLIAMS/ FOR THE CHRONICLE Holiday Farm fire, at a glance (as of 10 a.m. Sept. 10): Estimated fire size: 144,695 acres; Containment: 0%; Expected containment date. Oct. 29, 2020; Structures threatened: 17,732; Structures destroyed: Unknown; Personnel deployed: 207; Injures on incident management team: 0 Firefighters celebrated some small successes[Read More…]
McKenzie fires: Willamalane suspends senior meals; other sites listed
SPRINGFIELD — Due to a facility closure at the Willamalane Adult Activity Center, the Senior Meals Program will suspend service of both Café 60 meals to go and Meals on Wheels routes on Friday, Sept. 11. Other locations include: Local: * COTTAGE GROVE (RIVERVIEW TERRACE) – 925 W. Main, Cottage[Read More…]