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The Milepost 97 Fire Is 45% Contained

Alan McGuire-Dale

The Milepost 97 fire near Canyonville, is now 45% contained due to favorable weather conditions and fire crews working around the clock. 

Joe Touchstone with the Oregon Department of Forestry says overnight crews went around the perimeter with infrared detection monitors and identified hotspots. Today, crews will work on putting them out. 

“Then along other areas continue to mop up where we plan to go in 300 feet and ensure that there’s not hotspots within that 300 foot perimeter and then eventually have that around the entire fire,” says Touchstone.

He says the affected area remains at 13, 085 acres. Touchstone added that unless any drastic weather changes happen this weekend, progress will be slow. 

Officials have placed homes in the area that were under a Level 2 evacuation notice to a reduced Level 1 evacuation.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has also extended the air pollution fire advisory for Southern Oregon, including Douglas County, until Sunday. 

Melorie Begay is a multimedia journalist for KLCC News. She was the Inaugural KLCC Public Radio Foundation Journalism Fellow. She has a bachelors in Multimedia Journalism from the University of New Mexico. She previously interned at KUNM public radio in Albuquerque, NM and served as a fellow for the online news publication New Mexico In Depth.