A fast moving fire that had led to thousands of people being under evacuation notices over the weekend in Central Oregon has slowed its march.
Fire crews announced Monday they are quickly building fire lines around the southern edge of the Flat Fire, where it had been moving toward the town of Sisters, according to Eric Perkins, the operations section chief for Oregon Department of Forestry Section 3.
“Early on in this fire, that area was at risk but we have stopped the forward progression,” Perkins said in a video update. “Lots of structures in along this southern end of the fire as it moves into town ... that fire isn’t moving anymore. We’re securing the control line, starting to mop it in, and feel pretty comfortable about where we’re at.”
The Flat Fire started last Thursday just west of the town of Culver. As of Monday morning, it had destroyed four homes and six other structures. Nearly 4,000 homes in Deschutes and Jefferson counties are still under some level of evacuation notice. The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office has warned that the number of destroyed or damaged structures may change as more assessments are completed.
The fire grew to more than 20,000 acres by Sunday night. Around 1,200 staff had joined by Monday to work the fire, which stood at around 5% contained. More than 1,500 residents were still under Level 3 “Go Now!” evacuation warnings.
“There’s definitely a lot of anxiety with this fire. It grew very quickly and spread very quickly. It’s challenging terrain,” said Brett Deedon, a public information officer. “But at the same time, I think there’s still a lot of gratitude for the work the firefighters were able to do.”
Following the firefighting efforts over the weekend, more than 800 homes were still standing in or near “the black,” Deedon said, meaning they were in the fire’s burn area but had not burned due to the massive fire suppression effort.
Matt Cyrus, a sixth-generation farmer east of Sisters, said some of those homes had been saved because the property owners actively removed juniper trees and other fuels before fire season.
“There’s a lot of properties that the fire just burned through low and didn’t hardly affect them,” Cyrus said. “They thinned the trees. They’d taken out the brush, took out the ladder fuels. The fire went through clean and very little damage.”
Rain that moved into the area had started to help firefighters with their efforts by Monday afternoon. Cyrus had plans to get back into his fields just a mile from the fire line to remove baled hay before the rain could soak it.
“We’re trying to get the hay up. The firefighters are all praying for rain, and I’m hoping it’s a little more specific on where it drops,” he said.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced it has authorized the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs for the Flat Fire. It comes after the state submitted a request for a declaration under FEMA’s Fire Management Assistance Grant.
According to FEMA, this is the fifth grant declaration to help fight wildfires in Oregon so far this year.
Check the latest evacuation levels
The area surrounding the Flat Fire is still under several weather alerts. The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning and an air quality advisory through 9 p.m. Monday. A heat advisory remains in effect through 9 p.m. Wednesday.
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
