Klondike declared a conflagration

Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)

2018-10-16

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Gov. Kate Brown has declared the Klondike fire , burning near Agness, a conflagration, allowing the State Fire Marshal's Office to mobilize firefighters and equipment to assist local resources battling the fire. A level 3 "Go" evacuation is in effect for the Oak Flats and Spud Road areas of the Agness community after gusty winds Sunday led to a flareup in fire activity, according to fire managers. Kale Casey, a public information officer on the Klondike Fire, said that winds blowing 20 to 30 miles per hour carried embers as far as five miles away, including a spot over the fire's western line to a dry, unburned area near Agness. Those winds died down by Monday morning, but Casey said the threat to the approximately 40 structures in the area remained unchanged. "The blowup event itself with the wind element has passed, but now there's 2,000 new acres of fire in very dry fuel," Casey said, "so that means a full suppression force needs to get their lines established, get their day-to-day plans in place and of course as always, there'll be coordination with the team and the Curry County Sheriff's Office to determine what the best course of action is for residents." The Office of State Fire Marshal’s Red Incident Management Team, led by Chief Ian Yocum, and five structural task forces from Lane, Jackson, Linn, Benton, and Marion counties will arrive early this afternoon, a media release said. Kristin Schafer with the Fire Marshal's Office said that those crews will bring an additional 65 people to the firefight. At the peak of the fire's activity during the heat of summer , Casey said, about 1,800 people were assigned to the Klondike fire. Before Sunday's flareup, that number had decreased to around 300, he said. The incoming state crews will aid in structure protection efforts, he said, which will free some federal crews to focus more resources on establishing firelines. High temperatures coupled with low humidity are expected to continue throughout the week, which will likely contribute to fire growth, Casey said. But high winds are not expected to return, which were the driving factor in the Klondike's rapid spread over the weekend. "There isn't a firefighter around who thought this was possible yesterday," he said. "We're still there, folks. It's a fire year." Oregon Department of Forestry bumped up fire danger levels in agency lands in Jackson and Josephine counties to "moderate" Monday morning, which prohibits debris burning and fireworks at all times. Between the hours of 1 and 8 p.m., use of chainsaws or any spark-emitting internal combustion engine, cutting, grinding and welding of metal are prohibited. Find more information on restrictions in your county by calling 541-664-3328 for Jackson County or 541-474-3152 for Josephine County. Those under evacuation orders can received help and more information through the American Red Cross at the First Baptist Church, 29755 Turner St., Gold Beach. More information on evacuations is available at Curry County Emergency Services Facebook .