Today the Lane County Sheriff’s office eased evacuation alerts in Westfir and western Oakridge to Level 1, Be Ready. Other eastern areas remain at Levels 2 and 3. The Cedar Creek fire has burned over 92,000 acres with no containment.
Smoke from the fire is expected to create unhealthy air for several more days, particularly in La Pine, Sunriver and Bend. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has issued an air quality advisory for that area through Wednesday.
Jake Livingston is with Alaska Team 1, which leads firefighting efforts on the east side of the fire. He said they’re working with the Oregon Department of Transportation. “We had conversations about the Highway 58 corridor and closures and we came up with a good plan to not close the highway when we’re down there with our firefighting operations, but keep it one lane with a pilot car," he said, adding, "So that’s a good thing, ‘cause we can allow traffic to flow through 58 and we can continue to do what we need to do to set up our operations.”
A virtual community meeting tonight (Tuesday) will give updates and answer questions about the eastern side of the fire. That’s on the Cedar Creek Fire Facebook page at 7pm.
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