With hotter, drier weather arriving this weekend, fire crews in Douglas County are making progress on the Milepost 97 fire. The blaze is one mile south of Canyonville.
UPDATED FRIDAY 7:35 PM: Officials have reduced the evacuation notice to the lowest level. Homes that were under a Level 2 "Set" evacuation notice are now at Level 1 or "Ready".
Al De Vos, Public Information Officer for the Oregon Department of Forestry, tells KLCC that fire crews are prepared for this weekend's hotter weather. They've been doing burnout operations to reduce fuels that could help the fire spread. De Vos says they have the fire completely lined, meaning all of the fuels around the fire have been reduced down to mineral dirt.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has extended the air pollution advisory for wildfire smoke in Southern Oregon, including Douglas County, until Sunday at midnight.
The estimated cost of fighting the Milepsot 97 fire is more than $10-million.
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UPDATED FRIDAY 7:20 AM: It’s now just over 13,000 acres and 35% contained. Crews are doing burnout operations to help reduce the spread of the fire.
Close to 1,500 people are working on the wildfire. Nearly 600 structures are threatened.
The cost of fighting the wildfire is estimated at $ 8 million so far. Investigators say it was human caused.
