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More than three weeks after it started, Cedar Creek Fire is still zero percent contained

Smoke from the Cedar Creek Fire can be seen from the opposite short of Waldo Lake in this photo taken Aug. 21, 2022.
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Smoke from the Cedar Creek Fire can be seen from the opposite short of Waldo Lake in this photo taken Aug. 21, 2022.

Firefighters continue to battle the Cedar Creek Fire near Waldo Lake east of Oakridge. The blaze started August 1 and is more than 7,200 acres in size. The fire remains zero percent contained.

Randy Johnson, the incident commander of Pacific Northwest Team 3, said crews are still working to keep the fire from spreading.

"Anywhere we can, we will go tighter in to the fire edge and try and reduce the total acres this fire will consume when it's completed," he said.

But in terms of the containment figure that hasn't budged since the fire began more than three weeks ago, "we don’t consider fire contained until we have black edge all the way to a control feature, whether that be a road, a ridgetop, a handline or whatever it is,” he said.

There are no evacuations in place, but a section of the Willamette National Forest is closed. Waldo Lake and the forest service campgrounds on the east side of the lake remain open.

Chris Lehman has been reporting on Oregon issues since 2006. He joined the KLCC news department in December 2018 and became News Director in March 2023. Chris was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and graduated from Temple University with a degree in journalism. His public broadcasting career includes stops in Louisiana and Illinois. Chris has filed for national programs including “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered.”
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