Commander says Oakridge fire ‘looking very good’ as Level 2 evacuation notices drop back to Level 1

By DOUG BATES/Editor/The Herald — All Level 2 evacuation areas in Oakridge-Westfir were reduced to Level 1 status Monday on a day when the commander of the Middle Fork Complex response team said efforts to quell the Kwis Fire burning near town were “looking very good.”

“‘Contained’ was the word used two weeks ago,” incident commander Randy Johnson said in a briefing Monday. “We’re not saying that now, but we’ve got (fire) lines where we need them right now. . . It’s looking very good as we continue to make good progress.”

Several developments Monday gave hope to anxious townspeople that the greatest threat to the community might have passed. The biggest such development was an announcement by the Lane County Sheriff’s Office that Level 2 “BE SET” evacuation notices that were issued last week for parts of the community are now reduced to Level 1 “BE READY” status.

The more urgent Level 2 notices had been issued one week ago, on Monday, Aug. 9, for the High Prairie and fish hatchery areas and for the Oakridge areas north of Roberts Road and east of Salmon Creek. Now the entire community is at the less-urgent Level 1 stage, which the sheriff’s announcement said “means you should continue to be aware of the danger that exists in your area, monitor local media outlets and telephone devices to receive further information.”

Residents should also “continue to prepare for the precautionary movement of persons with special needs, mobile property, pets and livestock should conditions worsen,” the announcement said. “If conditions worsen, public safety personnel will make contact again using the emergency notification system.”

In his daily briefing, Johnson, the incident commander, gave his most upbeat report since a night of lightning strikes ignited 12 wildfires on the Willamette National Forest near Oakridge and Lowell. Three of those fires — named Kwis, Gales and Ninemile — were still not declared “contained” Monday, but Johnson expressed optimism about them and said an additional blaze in the McKenzie River area — the Knoll Fire — was under control and being “mopped up.”

The Kwis Fire, just three miles outside Oakridge, remains the fire command’s top priority in terms of protecting lives and property, Johnson said. However, “good progress” on it over the weekend will enable the federal interagency team to redeploy some resources to the Gales and Ninemile fires, which could potentially have adverse impact on Oakridge and Lowell if not checked, he said.

Thick smoke was still making air quality “unhealthy” in Oakridge, but it dissipated enough Sunday afternoon that firefighters were able to inspect the Kwis Fire from the air using helicopters and drones, Johnson said.

“The long and short of it is it’s looking a lot better than we initially expected,” he said. “We’re feeling a lot better this morning after we’ve gotten a look at it . . . The weather, as predicted, gave us a little bit of a break.”

In a separate briefing Monday, Ian Yocum, incident commander for the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office, said the threat to Oakridge had been reduced enough that two state task force teams were being sent home “as we transition back to local” management of the Kwis Fire. “This means we’ve had success,” he added.

Two other task force teams, sent to Oakridge under a directive from Gov. Kate Brown, will remain in Oakridge for now, “making sure lines hold,” Yocum said.