A Level 3 evacuation remains in place for the greater Oakridge, Westfir, and High Prairie areas. There were no changes in evacuation levels or areas in the last day. The fire grew significantly because of the weekend’s weather event (more than 32,000 acres), primarily to the west, driven by strong easterly winds and dry fuels. Because the fire breached existing lines, containment dropped to 0%. As of Sunday morning, the fire stands at 85,926 acres.
Currently, 2,230 homes and 443 commercial structures remain under threat from the Cedar Creek Fire. The Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal has committed seven task forces and an incident management team to protect homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure in the area. Because of strong east winds and triple-digit temperatures, work has primarily focused on the west side of the fire. As conditions change and winds shift, firefighters with the OSFM will continue to evaluate threat to lives and properties. Fire crews continue working day and night shifts to access structures and patrol critical areas where the fire is encroaching.
Saturday night, as winds moved east, firefighters on the western flank completed strategic burning operations near Eagle Butte, five miles northeast of Oakridge. The fire remained north of Highway 58, south of Forest Road 19, and east of Eagle Butte. Today, resources maintain a heavy presence on Highway 58 and Forest Road 19 corridors as they continue a direct attack on the fire. Crews on the western flanks will mop up and secure burnout operations.
In the east zone, direct checking actions continued on the southeast edge in the Waldo Lake area. Efforts are focused on creating fire breaks along existing roads and other barriers and burn-out operations to reduce fuels. Heavy equipment is arriving on site for use near Cultus Lake, Little Cultus Lake, and along Cascade Lakes Highway and forest roads. Cascade Lakes Highway remains closed to protect the public and firefighters as crews remove brush. Crews are preparing Forest Road 4290, between Charlton Lakes and Cascade Lakes Highway, to control the fire’s spread to the southeast. Brushing along Cascade Lakes Highway continues to create fuel breaks 100-200 feet in depth on both sides of the road. Crews are working in the Brown Mountain area to reinforce a barrier east of the highway between the Crane Prairie and Wickiup reservoirs. These fire breaks are a high priority and will likely take most of a week to complete. In addition, crews are prepping infrastructure around Lava Lake Resort and evaluating values around Odell Lake.
Weather/Fire Behavior: The extreme weather from the last two days has eased. Winds are shifting to a northwesterly direction and have calmed. It is still very dry, but temperatures are starting to cool, and the heavy smoke layer is shading and moderating fire activity. Spotting and torching are still anticipated and fire will continue to advance through lichens and heavy fuels.
Evacuations: Sign up for emergency mobile alerts at oralert.gov. Please check with Lane County Sheriff’s Office at 541-682-4150 and Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office at 541-693-6911 for updates and changes. Visit https://bit.ly/3D51kvC to view a map.
Closures: Check with Deschutes National Forest and Willamette National Forest about closures. A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is in place. The use of drones is prohibited in the fire area; please make it safe for our firefighters to use aircraft on the fire. Pacific Crest Trail hikers should visit pcta.org for current information.
Restrictions: Fire restrictions are in place in the Willamette National Forest and Deschutes National Forest.
Smoke Outlook: outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook
Online: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8307/
Cedar Creek Facebook: facebook.com/CedarCreekFire2022/
YouTube: https://www.tinyurl.com/cedarcreekfireyoutube
Fire Information: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. | Phone: 541-201-2335 | Email: 2022.cedarcreek@firenet.gov