Oregon Department of Forestry www.oregon.gov/odf News Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BLM Lakeview District August 12, 2021 www.blm.gov/office/lakeview-district-office
Fremont-Winema National Forest Media Contact: www.fs.usda.gov/fremont-winema Tamara Schmidt
Cell: 541-891-6758 [email protected]
Lightning starts two new large fires in South Central Oregon today
LAKEVIEW, Ore. – This afternoon’s thunderstorm activity, including dry lightning, in Klamath and Lake counties resulted in two new large fires that the agencies of the South Central Oregon Fire Management Partnership (SCOFMP) are actively fighting.
The Patton Meadow Fire was reported just before 3:30 p.m. and was caused by lightning. The fire is estimated to be more than 2,000 acres. It is burning a mile and a half northwest of Booth State Scenic Corridor Park, approximately 14 miles west of Lakeview.
Fire behavior is running and torching in mixed conifer on remote, rugged steep terrain on the Fremont- Winema National Forest Lakeview Ranger District, as well as on Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) protected private lands. The fire moved down the mountain tonight onto the valley floor west of Lakeview.
Willow Valley Fire was reported just before 4 p.m. and was caused by dry lightning. The fire is estimated to be 300 acres. It started on the Oregon side of the Oregon-California Stateline, approximately 1 mile east of Willow Valley Reservoir, 16 miles southeast of Bonanza.
The fire is currently burning mostly on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Lakeview District lands north of the Stateline, as well as part of the Modoc National Forest to the south.
Fire behavior is running and spotting in juniper and sagebrush. SCOFMP resources, including a Type 3 Incident Commander are working on the fire with support from Modoc National Forest wildland firefighting resources.
Both the Patton Meadow and Willow Valley fires have numerous air and ground wildland firefighting resources fighting the fires, with more resources ordered.
For the Patton Meadow Fire, 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 the fire area.
Lake County Evacuations
Level 3 Evacuation Notice (GO NOW – Residents should leave IMMEDIATELY.) • Juniper RV Park to Patton Meadow. • All of Drews Gap, on both sides of Oregon State Highway 140.
Level 2 (GET SET – Residents are urged to be prepared to leave IMMEDIATELY if necessary.) • North of Oregon State Highway 140 from Juniper RV Park to Lower Cottonwood.
Level 1 (GET READY – Residents should make preparations for potential evacuation.) • East of Lower Cottonwood Road and Cottonwood Creek.
The Red Cross has been contacted to establish an evacuation center for the Patton Meadow Fire. Once one is established, the location will be shared.
There are no evacuation orders in place for the Willow Valley Fire. However, residents in the Willow Valley Reservoir area should be monitoring the fire and prepared to evacuate if necessary.
Thunderstorms this evening have impacted wildland firefighting efforts. There is a Red Flag Warning in effect tomorrow from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Area residents and visitors are reminded that Public Use Restrictions are in effect throughout the SCOFMP area. Please visit www.scofmp.org to verify the restrictions for the landscape you plan to work or recreate on. Everyone is asked to be careful with anything that could spark a wildfire and to report suspected wildfires immediately by calling 911.
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South Central Oregon Fire Management Partnership provides comprehensive wildland fire services to more than eight million acres of land administered by the Bureau of Land Management Lakeview District; Fremont-Winema National Forest; Oregon Department of Forestry Klamath-Lake District; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Sheldon-Hart Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Complex; and Crater Lake National Park. The area encompasses federal, state, and private lands within south central Oregon and northwest Nevada.