The Oregon State Fire Marshal (OSFM) resources began arriving at the Lookout Fire on Sunday evening and Monday. The crews are integrating into operations and assisting with structural protection. The conflagration declared just after 6 p.m. on Sunday evening allowed the mobilization of additional task forces from around the state, as well as an OSFM incident management team. The OSFM Blue Team joined Northwest Team 6 in unified command Monday morning at 6 a.m. Task forces currently assigned to the fire are from Clatsop, Tillamook, Lane, Clackamas, Deschutes, Yamhill, and Marion counties. Structure crews have been establishing situational awareness, assessing structural access, and beginning surface preparations.
On Monday, the fire remained within primary control lines and stayed north of Forest Road 700. Firefighters began back-burning fuels from Forest Road 700 to the fire, slowing the spread. The fire backed down the hillside to Lookout Creek. Firefighters will use the creek as an anchor point to prevent fire spread.
TODAY’S ACTIVITY: Firefighters will continue preparation work on Forest Road 700, using heavy equipment to ensure the fire stays north of the road. Firefighters are scouting nearby roads to connect primary control lines. Planes and helicopters will continue to be used to slow fire activity while crews work on the ground.
The OSFM task forces are working on the south end of the fire near homes on Taylor and North Bank doing triage and preparation and assisting wildland resources.
COMMUNITY MEETING: Thursday, August 17, 2023, 6:30-7:30 p.m., In-person at McKenzie High School, 51187 Blue River Dr, Vida, OR 97488, and virtually on Facebook.
EVACUATIONS: There are Level 3 evacuations North of Highway 126. For current information please see Lane County’s website.
WEATHER: A Red Flag warning is effect for the area for hot, dry, and unstable conditions.
CLOSURES: Willamette National Forest closures can be found at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/willamette/alerts-notices/…
RESTRICTIONS: Fire restrictions are in place on the Willamette National Forest https://www.fs.usda.gov/willamette
Smoke forecast outlooks are available at https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook
