Nearly 6,400 personnel on 23 large fires across state; we have updates on several in our region
SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) – The Oregon State Fire Marshal is mobilizing its Blue Incident Management Team and several task forces to the Rail Ridge Fire in Grant and Crook counties and the Shoe Fly Fire in Wheeler County. Governor Tina Kotek invoked the Conflagration Act for both fires Friday.
The Rail Ridge Fire is estimated at 107,371 acres and 3 percent contained as of Friday morning. The lightning-sparked fire was detected on Wednesday and grew rapidly, pushed by extremely hot, dry and windy conditions over the last few days.
The OSFM Blue Team will be in unified command with California Team 10, a complex incident management team, which took command of the Rail Ridge Fire Friday morning. Earlier this week, the OSFM mobilized two task forces from Central Oregon and Marion County through Immediate Response. These task forces will be joined by three others later this evening.
“The conditions we are seeing on the ground are very dynamic, with several fires burning in the region and a cold front is expected to pass through. There’s no real relief in the forecast over the weekend and into early next week,” Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said. “The Oregon fire service has been extremely busy over the last few months, and I cannot thank them enough for being ready to respond to help their fellow Oregonians when they need it.”