Rainfall Decreases Intensity of Beachie Creek Fire
Firefighters monitor change in weather, different risks.
Salem, Ore. – The Beachie Creek fire is expected to be less active Friday as precipitation moderates fire behavior. The decrease in fire behavior and intensity today will allow firefighters to continue connecting and strengthening the containment lines around the fire. The emphasis is still protecting communities to the south and west of the fire. Firefighters will continue to directly attack the fire around Scotts Mills, Stayton, Lyons, Mill City, and Detroit. Other crews continue work to protect timber investments on the north side of the fire near Scotts Mills.
While firefighters build containment and contingency lines, they are also monitoring for additional risks from rain such as landslides, flooding, or trees falling.
The Incident Command Team continues to address infrastructure and community needs by assisting power companies, insurance companies, and communication firms. The Team is providing these organizations with information, logistics, and transportation support. This work will lead to allowing residents and community members back into the area.
Fire officials also continue to work closely with the Marion County and Linn County Sheriff’s Offices, ODOT and the Oregon State Police to coordinate recovery efforts along the Santiam Canyon. Currently 4,056 structures are at Level 3 evacuations and another 3,499 are in level 2 evacuations. To protect first responders and communities near the fire, it is imperative that everyone heeds road closures and evacuations. Anyone who enters the fire perimeter jeopardizes firefighting and rescue operations, puts lives at risk, and potentially increases the time it will take to return residents to their homes.
The weather pattern change brings showers to the area of the fire. Rain is expected for the early part of Friday before tapering off later in the day. Maximum temperatures today will be around 65 – 70 degrees and minimum relative humidity will be over 70 percent across the fire area. Cooler temperatures with more humidity are expected over the weekend.
The Willamette National Forest, Bureau of Land Management, and State lands around the fire remain closed to the public. Go to InciWeb (link below) for more information about closures in the area.
Public information:
Facebook: facebook.com/BeachieCreek
E-mail: BeachieCreek@gmail.com
Phone: 541-583-0526, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Inciweb https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7001/
Oregon Smoke Blog https://oregonsmoke.blogspot.com/p/air-quality-now.h
