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1 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Smoke blankets Rogue Valley as Stouts fire grows to 8,500 acres ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: Missing Jon Stewart ... Ticket Availability ... Smoke blankets Rogue Valley as Stouts fire grows to 8,500 acres ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: Missing Jon Stewart ... Ticket Availability ... Smoke blankets Rogue Valley as Stouts fire grows to 8,500 acres Comment DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Aug. 1, 2015 at 12:36 PM Posted Aug. 1, 2015 at 12:36 PM » Social News Local report The Oregon Department of Forestry said at midday Saturday that the Stouts fire burning in southern Douglas County has grown to 8,500 acres, an increase of 2,000 acres from Friday. The fire growth was to the south and east. "This is a tough fire," ODF Team 1 Incident Commander John Buckman said in comments posted by the ODF. "Because of the challenging terrain and abundant, dry fuel — large standing and downed trees — we have difficult work ahead to suppress this fire but I know these crews can do it." The Oregon State Fire Marshal and ODF are operating under a unified command to coordinate the structural and wildland firefighting efforts. City or structural firefighters are working with homeowners to help protect their homes if the fire reaches them, while the wildland firefighters are directly battling the blaze. Saturday's air quality remained at the unhealthy level for the Medford area, the same level recorded for Shady Cove — which was an improvement for that community over the Friday night levels that were categorized as hazardous. Air quality readings improved today, but shortly after noon were still listed in the unhealthy category for "sensitive groups," such as people with respiratory issues, the elderly and small children. The National Weather Service on its Facebook page said the smoke is expected to be present in the valley throughout the day. Smoke from the Stouts and Cable Crossing fires in Douglas County continued to drift south as the two combined to exceed 9,500 acres burned. According to figures from the Oregon Department of Forestry, the Stouts fire, which grew from 2 acres to more than 5,000 acres Thursday, was at approximately 8,500 acres this morning. The Cable Crossing fire is at about 1,100 acres. Winds blowing from the north Friday pushed a mass of smoke into the Rogue Valley Friday night. The winds calmed but continued to come out of the northeast this morning. Forecasters say those winds should shift to the northwest later today, which could help reduce the smoke levels. Temperatures today are expected to peak at 105 degrees in Medford, which set high temperature daily records of 107 on Thursday and 109 on Friday. The Stouts fire is burning to the southeast in an area about 11 miles east of the community of Milo, which is about 25 miles east of Canyonville. It was first spotted Thursday afternoon and blew up into a timber-fed blaze exhibiting "extreme fire conditions," according to firefighting officials, with flames crowning in tree tops and spreading rapidly in the winds of that evening. Fire officials said 827 firefighting personnel were on the scene of the blaze Friday night. The Douglas County Sheriff's Office has issued a Level 3 evacuation — calling for immediate evacuation — for residents in the Azalea area from Upper Cow Creek to Snow Creek East. There is a Level 2 evacuation call for residents near the Galesville Dam up to Snow Creek. The Cable Crossing fire is burning near Highway 138, about 10 miles east of Glide, which is about 15 miles northeast of Roseburg. It is burning through timberlands, including heavy brush and slash from logging operations, and was considered 15 percent contained Friday evening. Officials said 785 firefighting personnel were on the scene of that fire, which began Tuesday from unknown causes. Highway 138 is remains open with a pilot car escort through the fire area. Gov. Kate Brown invoked the Conflagration Act Friday to bring structural firefighters in from around the state to help protect the neighborhoods close to the fire. The OSFM Office quickly mobilized statewide resources including task force teams from Clackamas, Lane, Linn/Benton, Lincoln, Marion and Yamhill counties. The news today from weather forecasters was not encouraging, with a Red Flag alert for possible lightning storms issued for the period from 2 p.m. today through 11 p.m. Sunday. According to the National Weather Service, a weather system pushing moist and unstable air into Southern Oregon and Northern California will bring with it the threat of isolated dry thunderstoms. The greatest threat for the storms is expected to be during the afternoon and evening hours, but the storms may continue through the night in many locations, the NWS alert says. DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Aug. 1, 2015 at 12:36 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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