STOUTS FIRE MORNING UPDATE – AUGUST 6, 2015
August 6, 2015
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Posted on FlashAlert: August 6th, 2015 10:07 AM
Stouts Creek Fire
Morning Update
August 6, 2015
Public Information Phone: (541) 825-3724 (7 a.m. to 9 p.m.)
http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4426/
www.facebook.com/StoutsFire
Email: StoutsFire@gmail.com
@StoutsFire
#StoutsFire
Working together through the night, which will continue through today, wildland firefighters from 17 states continued carving out control lines and doing some controlled burn outs. Structural crews supported wildland firefighting efforts and were on hand to protect homes, if needed. 1,400 people are working on the firefighting team. The fire grew about 4,000 acres over the last three days to 19,971 acres. The fire is 20 percent contained.
Last night’s Milo community meeting drew about 75 people out for an update. Oregon State Fire Marshal “Green Team” Incident Commander Ted Kunze said, “We greatly appreciate all the community support, especially the thank you signs. We’ve prepared area around the homes to help protect them. The wildland crews have a lot of work ahead, please hang in there with them. This is a big, tough fire.”
Today, crews’ fire suppression efforts will focus on connecting and widening existing fire lines. If conditions are favorable, more burn out operations may be done on the east and south flanks. Crews on the fire’s west and north flanks are running hose lays and doing mop-up along the fire’s edge.
While crews dig lines, eight helicopters will continue supporting them by dropping thousands of gallons of water to calm fires threatening existing lines and spot fires. Another helicopter is on standby to respond to medical emergencies. Air tankers are available on an as-needed basis.
A structural protection task force continues monitoring the Drew area. Residences and other structures have been evaluated for defensible space. Crews reduced shrubs, brush, and other vegetation to make homes more defensible against fire. Crews strategically placed portable water ponds, pumps, hoses and sprinklers among the homes as a contingency measure.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s office will reduce to Level 1 (Ready) evacuation status the areas of Milo Academy, Stouts Creek Road, Ferguson Lane and Conley Road, effective at 10 a.m. The evacuation levels in the Upper Cow Creek Road and Drew remain at Level 2 (Set). A small area along the Tiller-Trail Highway north of Trail in Jackson County is under a Level 1 evacuation alert.
Smoke might continue drifting from the fire area and will be stronger when firefighters conduct controlled burn outs. Most of the smoke will drift in a south/southeast direction from the fire. For updates on smoke density and public health advisories, see www.oregonsmoke.blogspot.com.
The Stouts Creek Fire is burning on private timberlands, other tracts of private land, Bureau of Land Management and Umpqua National Forest lands. The Stouts Creek Fire is being managed cooperatively by the Oregon Department of Forestry, the Office of the Oregon State Fire Marshal and the U.S. Forest Service. Wildland fire suppression direction is coming from the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Incident Management Team 1. Structural fire protection is being handled by task forces under the command of the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Green Team.
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