Portland Fire & Rescue said as of Wednesday evening it had responded to more than 500 fire incidents in the city since Monday.
In the previous three days, the agency said it responded to about 150 fire incidents.
The agency reported that fires have been caused by downed power lines and stoked by strong winds.
PF&R said it is supplying as much mutual aid as it can while still working to protect Portland. Currently, 34 Portland firefighters have been deployed around the state to assist with continuing wildfires.
“This is an unprecedented fire event affecting our state and it requires all of us to work together as a community,” Portland Fire Chief Sara Boone said in a statement. “I want to recognize that many City of Portland employees, including firefighters, have been forced to evacuate their homes and are experiencing loss. I am asking every single person in Portland to do their part to prevent fires in the city.”
The agency is continuing to remind Portlanders that fire staffing throughout Oregon is stretched thin, and residents should take precautions to protect themselves and others. That includes not creating outdoor fires, not smoking outside and making sure cigarette butts are fully extinguished.
The latest images and temperature data from NASA’s GOES-17 geostationary satellite bring some hope: Fires at lower elevations across Oregon appeared to be declining in intensity Thursday.
Since fires blew up across Oregon on Labor Day — fanned by dry east winds — they’ve burned hundreds of thousands of acres in just a few days. The fires have run so hot and moved so quickly in such proximity to urban areas that firefighters have joined emergency responders in prioritizing life safety. Crews and law enforcement have worked long hours to move people out of the way of the out-of-control wildfires.
But state officials said Wednesday they see an opening to more directly fight the fires, thanks to an upcoming change in the weather. State Fire Marshal Doug Grafe said winds were already dying down near the valley floors of western Oregon, even as some gusty weather and stronger winds continued at higher elevations. He said that the positive weather trend was going to continue.
“The system that put us in this place is moving out and that’s the best news I can give you,” Grafe said. “[Thursday] begins a hopeful weather change and gives us a chance to shift from life safety ... to being aggressive where we can to reestablish containment lines.”
Grafe said the dry winds out of the east will be replaced by moister air from the west.
“That is favorable,” Grafe said, though with caution. He said favorable weather conditions are predicted to continue through the weekend.
People forced to flee wildfires in Oregon’s Santiam Canyon started to return Wednesday to assess the damage. Bob Stifel was among them and he had no difficulty describing what it was like to check on the condition of homes for friends and family who had yet to return.
“It’s been a little heartache here, some heartache there, more heartache there. It’s like, when’s it going to quit?” Stifel said as he drove through the charred remains of Gates, one out of a half-dozen communities scorched as fire swept through Monday night and Tuesday.
Strong winds late Monday downed power lines in Santiam Canyon, which turned a fire that was already burning into an inferno that left people fleeing for their lives.
The Beachie Creek Fire — now called the Santiam Fire — has forced the evacuations of several thousand people who live in the string of towns that dot the scenic Highway 22 running from Salem into the Cascade Mountains.
The Beachie Creek Fire started around Aug. 16. Its cause is under investigation. But downed power lines due to high winds this week ignited many smaller, new fires that quickly helped the blaze grow, fire officials said Wednesday.
“There were many electrical fires that started from downed power lines,” said Stefan Myers with the Santiam Fire Information Team. “So, this isn’t just the one Beachie Creek Fire that became the fire we see now. It’s a multitude of small starts and fires that merged to become the Santiam Fire.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Wednesday it’s approved money to help cover the costs of fighting four fires burning in Oregon, just a day after state officials said they were asking for the aid.
FEMA initially approved funding for three fires: the Holiday Farm Fire in Lane County, the Powerline Fire in Washington County and the Echo Mountain Complex Fire in Lincoln County. The Holiday Farm Fire was the largest at the time of the application — burning about 15,000 acres.
In a later announcement, FEMA included assistance for what officials called the Almeda and Glendower fires in Jackson County. The southern Oregon blazes devastated Phoenix and Talent and caused thousands to evacuate the city of Medford. Wednesday afternoon, a third fire, the Table Overpass Fire, started in central Medford.
Air quality remained poor across much of Oregon on Thursday morning, as smoke from raging wildfires escaped Western Oregon and settled over the rest of the state. In many cities west of the Cascades, air quality indexes well over 500 were observed. An AQI of 301-500 is considered “hazardous,” the worst category the EPA recognizes. Anything above that is considered “above the index” — literally off the charts.
At the coast, far from fires, falling ash and smoke so thick it was almost tangible settled over fishing and tourist towns.
“The smoke is really bad, the ash is horrible, and the particulates just get in your eyes and your throat,” said Lillian Curanzy, who works at the Newport Public Library.
The smoky sun turned everything a deep red as residents packed bags and loaded families, belongings and livestock into trucks and vehicles Wednesday afternoon, potentially leaving their homes for the last time.
But even as they left, the community came together to help salvage what they could.
Clackamas County resident Bridgett Noce opened up her empty pasture for those who needed to evacuate livestock.
“People are just dropping what they’re doing to help ... we didn’t even know each other 12 hours ago,” said Ryan Ramage, who left horses with Noce.
Ramage said he and other members of the community were pooling resources like trailers to make sure animals were being evacuated.
“Last night, we moved over 20 animals from random places,” Ramage said. “It was pretty amazing to see all the stock trailers out and community coming together to get these animals out of the fire.”
The fires in Santiam Canyon hit fast, OPB reports. People arrived at the State Fairgrounds smeared in soot, in the pajamas they’d been wearing when evacuations startled them out of bed. Some arrived after a harrowing escape through the mountains, as a snowplow cleared flaming, fallen debris from the road.
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