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WILDFIRES Stouts fire at 15,100 acres, 5 percent contained Comment By Ryan Pfeil For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Ryan Pfeil For the Tidings Posted Aug. 3, 2015 at 12:30 PM Updated Aug 4, 2015 at 11:34 AM By Ryan Pfeil For the Tidings Posted Aug. 3, 2015 at 12:30 PM Updated Aug 4, 2015 at 11:34 AM » Social News CANYONVILLE — Two  Oregon Army National Guard helicopters were called in today to help ground crews battle the growing 4-day-old Stouts fire, which has raged to 15,100 acres but is starting to slow in its tracks in Douglas County. Crews on the Stouts fire, located about a dozen miles east of Canyonville, reported the blaze was 5 percent contained Monday. It is the largest wildfire currently burning in Oregon, according to the  Incident Information System website . Dave Wells, one of the fire's public-information officers, said an air inversion helped keep the fire's size estimate this evening at 15,100 acres, but an infrared flight scheduled for later tonight will help generate a more accurate picture of its size. Justin de Ruyter, a public information officer at the fire, said the blaze didn't see much growth Sunday because of an inversion layer that limited air movement. "We'll probably get a little more activity than we did (Sunday)," de Ruyter said. "Once that inversion lifts, activity will start increasing quite a bit." More than 1,400 firefighters from the U.S. Forest Service, Oregon Department of Forestry, Oregon State Fire Marshal's Office and Douglas Forest Protective Association are on the Stouts fire. The Guard today deployed two Blackhawk helicopters fitted with collapsible "bambi buckets" that are easily fitted to helicopters for water drops on the Stouts fire, according to the Guard. A Chinook helicopter was also called in for the fire and was expected to join the fight Wednesday, the Guard reported this evening. The southern and eastern flanks are the most problematic, de Ruyter added. Due to the continued activity, the Umpqua National Forest's Tiller Ranger District has issued an emergency closure on a portion of the forest there.  Level 2 evacuation notices (be ready to go at a moment's notice) remain in effect for Upper Cow Creek Road from the Galesville Dam to Snow Creek, Ferguson, Stouts Creek and Conley lanes and the Trail-Tiller Highway in Tiller. A Level 1 evacuation (be ready for a potential evacuation) remains in effect for the Milo Academy area and for Jackson County residents on Highway 227 from milepost 45 to the Douglas County border. The Oregon Department of Forestry also responded to several new fire starts over the weekend caused by lightning in Jackson and Josephine counties. The largest new fire, near Kelsey Creek in Josephine County, has reportedly reached 15 acres in size, ODF reported on its blog,  www.swofire.com .  The Boaz Gulch fire in the upper Applegate Valley, less than two acres in size, is nearing containment.  Two other fires in the Upper Applegate area, Pete's Camp and Cinnabar Mountain, were snuffed at a half-acre each. Crews also extinguished the three-acre Speaker Road fire, northeast of Wolf Creek.  The Douglas Forest Protective Association responded to fires of a tenth-acre and quarter-acre. On the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, eight new fires were spotted, all less than 3 acres, according to the Medford Interagency Communications Center. Many are extinguished, it said, and three are still staffed. The largest reported fire, the National Creek Complex, located near the boundary with Crater Lake National Park, is roughly 10 acres in size. A Type 2 Incident Management Team was to take over supervision of firefighting efforts there beginning Tuesday evening. "Fire crews remain on high alert for new starts as lightning continues to cross the region and the ability to detect them is challenged by poor visibility caused by smoke from large fires burning to the north in Douglas County and to our south in California," ODF said in a statement. Reach reporter Ryan Pfeil at 541-776-4468 or [email protected] . Follow him at www.twitter.com/ryanpfeil . By Ryan Pfeil For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Ryan Pfeil For the Tidings Posted Aug. 3, 2015 at 12:30 PM Updated Aug 4, 2015 at 11:34 AM » 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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