Klamath Basin News, Tuesday, 7/13 – Over 1,000 Firefighters Now Assigned to the Bootleg Fire, Level 3 Evacuations Now in Place, No Containment

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Tuesday, July 13, 2021

Klamath Basin Weather

Heat Advisory until July 13, 08:00 PM PDT
Air Quality Alert
Red Flag Warning until July 14, 08:00 PM PDT

Today Widespread smoke. Sunny and hot, with a high near 99. North wind around 5 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Overnight low around 60.

Wednesday Widespread smoke, mainly before 2pm. Sunny and hot, with a high near 97.
Thursday Sunny, with a high near 92.
Friday Sunny, with a high near 85.
Saturday Sunny, with a high near 88.

Today’s Headlines

Bootleg Fire Update as of 9:30AM Tuesday, July 13, 2021

The Bootleg Fire in southern Oregon has burned an area larger than Portland, Eugene and Salem combined in less than a week. The fire is threatening nearly 2,000 homes and remains 0% contained. There are no reports of fatalities; crews are assessing the extent of the damage to homes and infrastructure. Evacuation orders are in effect. Oregon uses a three-tier system: Level 1 Be Ready, Level 2 Be Set and Level 3 GO!

First detected July 6, less than a week later Monday the fire had burned 153,535 acres. Over 1,000 firefighters are now assigned to the blaze.

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Bootleg Fire area map

Emergency Bootleg Fire closure expanded, Lake County begins Level 3 evacuations

LAKEVIEW, Ore. – The emergency closure or the Bootleg Fire area on the Fremont-Winema National Forest was expanded for the second time in a week due to increased fire activity and movement. 

Additionally, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Management has identified areas for Level 3 (Go Now), Level 2 (Get Set) and Level 1 (Be Ready) in western Lake County due to the fire, and is notifying residents and recreating public in the Level 3 area.

Lake County Evacuations

Level 3 (Go Now)

  • South of the Sycan River, south of Forest Roads 3239 and 28, and the Gearhart Wilderness west of Forest Road 3372 in Lake County.

Level 2 (Get Set)

  • Sycan Marsh area, Chocktoot Creek Drainage area, west of Forest Road 28 and east of Forest Road 3372, north of Forest Road 34, and through the area that includes Corral Creek Campground and Mitchell Monument.

Level 1 (Be Ready)

  • From the northeast at the Lake County line, through the Yamsay Mountain Recreation Area, extending east to the south of Thompson Reservoir to Winter Rim Recreation Area, then south near the Forest Boundary, then following Chewaucan Road south to Forest Road 34.

The evacuation levels include recreation sites in the Fremont-Winema National Forest, as well as private property.

The expanded forest closure order is on National Forest System lands south of Silver Lake Road between U.S. Highway 97 and Oregon State Highway 31; west of Oregon State Highway 31 and U.S. Highway 395; north of the Oregon-California Stateline; northeast of Willow Valley Road, Langell Valley Road, Bly Mountain Cutoff Road, Oregon State Highway 140 and Sprague River Road to U.S. Highway 97; and east of U.S. Highway 97 between Chiloquin and Silver Lake Road.

All roads, recreation sites and facilities are closed within the closure area.

“The Bootleg Fire has moved rapidly through Klamath and Lake counties, with extreme fire behavior driven by hot weather, winds and exceptionally dry fuels since it was discovered last Tuesday,” said Fremont-Winema National Forest Supervisor Barry Imler.  “For public and firefighter safety, it is essential that we expand the closure area while firefighters, the Incident Management Team and area fire managers work together to contain and control the fire.”

The closure order is formally referenced as 06-02-21-05.  It went into effect Monday night and is in effect until conditions allow or December 31, 2021, whichever occurs first.  There will be public notifications when the closure order is lifted.

Area residents and Forest visitors are asked to avoid the fire area and related roads while suppression activities continue.  Anyone driving in the area should watch for increased traffic and vehicles associated with wildland firefighting.

Violations of the closure order are punishable by a fine of not more than $5,000 for an individual or $10,000 for an organization, or imprisonment of not more than 6 months or both.

For more information on the Fremont-Winema National Forest, visit www.fs.usda.gov/fremont-winema, follow the Forest on Twitter @FremontWinemaNF or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/R6FWNF.

For the hundreds of people affected by the evacuations of the Bootleg Fire, SOEA, or Southern Oregon Emergency Aid, and Project Spirit are asking that residents with animals, under Level 1, level 2 or Level 3 evacuation to contact them so that they can help with animal evacuations.Top of Form

 SOEA and Project Spring say that even if you are thinking of staying behind until the last possible moment to prepare for the possibility of needing to evacuate your animals. SOEA and Project Spring are offering their services for free and can take animals to the Klamath County fairgrounds or to a place of your choice within reason. Both organizations are asking community members in the evacuations zones to please consider this option, especially for large animals, before a Level 3 Evacuation Order is issued. To get in contact with one of these organizations you can call or text Project Spirit at 831-235-3031.

Oregon made a request for a Fire Management Assistance Grant due to the Bootleg Fire’s threat to the communities of Sprague River, Bly and Beatty. FEMA’s acting administrator for the region, Vincent Maykovich, approved the grant request on Saturday. It is the second grant for Oregon wildfires in 2021. FMAGs come from the President’s Disaster Relief Fund and are used to assist in fighting fires that threaten to cause a major disaster, the federal agency said. They can be used to pay for the expenses of field camps; equipment use, repair and replacement; mobilization and demobilization activities; and tools, materials, and supplies.

There are five new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 2,797 the Oregon Health Authority reported on Monday.

Oregon Health Authority reported 506 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 on Monday bringing the state total to 210,729.

The 506 cases are a cumulative total, which includes cases reported over the weekend. The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon is 109, which is two fewer than day prior. There are 29 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit beds, which is three fewer than day prior.

Jackson County had 36 new cases.  Klamath County reported 7, and Lake county, 3.

Around the state of Oregon

In Douglas County, The Jack Fire grew to 12,533 acres Sunday, according to the Northwest Incident Management Team 9 and Oregon State Fire Marshal Blue Incident Command Team, which are sharing joint command of the blaze.

The fire remains at 10% containment, with more than 800 firefighters battling the blaze. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The Jack Fire continues to be most active south of Oregon Highway 138 East in the Apple Creek area, pushed by north and northwest winds throughout the day Sunday. Firefighters continue to provide protection and suppression efforts near the Dry Creek residential area.

Air support continues to provide water and fire retardant drops to help limit the fire’s spread and hold containment lines.

Leaders in the Oregon House and Senate announced on Monday that the capitol in Salem will be largely accessible to the public again for the first time since March of last year.

In a joint statement, Senate President Peter Courtney and House Speaker Tina Kotek said that the decision stemmed from new Oregon Health Authority guidance and Governor Kate Brown’s decision to lift most COVID-19 restrictions on July 1. The decision to close the capitol to the public became a point of contention as the pandemic dragged on. Republicans in the House and Senate made complaints about the lack of public access a refrain that accompanied nearly every piece of legislation considered by the two chambers during the 2021 session.

Public comment and viewership of hearings continued over Zoom. The Oregon State Capitol Visitor Services staff will be bringing back many of the customary services for visitors over the next few weeks:

  • The Capitol Store will be open from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. for the next few weeks. Visit their website or Facebook page for updates.
  • Capitol tours will be self-guided for the week of July 12th.
  • Guided tours will be offered daily at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. beginning July 19th. Beginning mid-August, guided tours will be expanded to four tours per day.
  • Tower tours will resume in September 202

According to data collected from the National Weather Service in Medford along with the next 14-day forecast, Medford is on track to have its hottest July in the last 20 years.

So far this month, Medford has had an average temperature of 99 degrees and has experienced five days of 100 degrees or hotter. It’s been several years since Medford experienced this hot of a start to the month of July, the last time, was back in 2014 and even then, it was not even close.

Data from the NWS shows us that Medford experienced an average temperature 96.63 degrees in the first 11 days of the month of July, that’s roughly about three degrees cooler than what July of 2021 is averaging. However, later into that very hot July in 2014, the city experienced 10 days of 100 degrees or warmer.

That’s the most amount of days with 100 degree temperatures in the month of July for the city in the last 20 years. But according to data collected from the 14-day forecast from the Weather Channel, the city is on track to experience an average temperature of 96.8 degrees by July 25th.

That’s .1 degrees off from the hottest July in the last 20 years and the city will still have six more days after that to beat the record.

On Sunday, July 11, 2021 at approximately 1:45 A.M., Oregon State Police Troopers and emergency personnel responded to hit and run crash on Hwy 551 near milepost 2.

Preliminary investigation revealed that a bicyclist was northbound on the shoulder when it was struck from behind by a vehicle. The involved vehicle did not stay at the scene. The bicyclist was transported to the hospital where they were pronounced deceased.  Evidence recovered at the scene suggest the involved vehicle is a 2008-2014 Subaru Tribeca, white in color, with damage to the front passenger side of the vehicle to include the headlight and passenger side mirror.  

OSP is requesting anyone with any information regarding the crash or any information regarding the suspect vehicle to contact the Oregon State Police Northern Command Center at 1-800-442-0776 or *OSP and refer to case #SP21-194026. OSP was assisted by the Aurora Fire Department, Woodburn Ambulance, and ODOT.

Two people are dead following a shooting at a Salem bar.  Police say the two were shot early Saturday morning at Woody’s Cantina on Hawthorne Avenue Northeast.  

Police arrived to find several people leaving the bar.  One person died at the scene, and the second victim died at Salem Health Hospital.  No arrests have been made.

Portland’s housing market remains hot.  RMLS reports that through June, the median price of a home was 500-thousand dollars, which is up 18-percent from June of 2020. Homes are staying on the market for an average of three weeks before selling.

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