Fire managers working with the Holiday Farm Fire east of Springfield are asking for cooperation from the public in observing the various area and road closures for the fire area.
With Highway 126 reopening and hunting season beginning over the weekend, members of the Incident Management Team are concerned about people entering the fire area. While Highway 126 is open, there are miles of roads and large areas of land that remain closed to public access.
In a release, Incident Commander Joe Hessel, with ODF Team 1 said “the fire and the preceding wind event have changed a lot of things across the landscape and added many hazards that weren’t there previously. Firefighters have worked to identify and mitigate many of these hazards, however, they still remain throughout the fire area.”
Hessel added that they still have over 450 firefighters working to secure fire lines against further spread and he said they are “simultaneously beginning to address the potential for erosion on those same lines.” He added that “it’s still a busy and complex environment and at this point, we’re just asking folks to stay out of the fire area. It’s for your safety and the safety of our firefighters.”
Fire managers say resource professionals have been assessing the overall effects of the fire on things such as infrastructure, which includes recreation sites, bridges, and roadways among others. They say this work will continue even after the fire suppression work is completed. Some areas may be closed for the long-term as land managers prioritize work to be completed and ensure public safety measures can be met. Officials say closure orders are evaluated frequently and are subject to change and they urge the public to check the status of closures prior to leaving to visit the forest.
For information on the area closure for the Willamette National Forest visit: https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/willamette/fire
For information on the Bureau of Land Management closures visit:
https://www.blm.gov/alert/fire-closures-and-fire-restrictions
Fire managers request that no one park on the shoulders of the road, avoid distractions and follow the newly reduced speed limit through the area. While the highway is open, most area roads will remain closed and travelers should not try to turn off and utilize these arterial roads.
For information related to road closures and delays, visit: www.tripcheck.com or https://www.oregon.gov/odot/Pages/Wildfire.aspx
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