Oregon Department of Forestry www.oregon.gov/odf News Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BLM Lakeview District August 13, 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]
Patton Meadow and Willow Valley Fire morning update
LAKEVIEW, Ore. – The Patton Meadow and Willow Valley Fires are continuing to burn in Klamath and Lake counties.
The Patton Meadow Fire is estimated to be 7,000 acres with no containment. Wildland firefighters are working to keep the fire north of Oregon State Highway 140 and west of the structures along Cottonwood Road.
The fire is burning approximately 10 miles west of Lakeview in Lake County on the Fremont-Winema National Forest Lakeview District and Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) protected state and private lands.
The Willow Valley Fire is estimated to be 800 acres, including 37 acres burning in California, with no containment.
The fire is currently burning 16 miles southeast of Bonanza in Klamath County, 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. ODF protected lands are threatened.
Both fires were caused by lightning yesterday afternoon. Firefighters are expecting rapid growth on both fires today due to forecasted weather, current fuel conditions and a lack of resources.
Critical communication infrastructure is being threatened on Grizzly Peak by the Patton Meadow Fire.
ODF Team 3 is expected to arrive in the area the area today for both the Patton Meadow and Willow Valley Fires. The Oregon State Fire Marshal Blue Team is arriving in Lakeview today for the Patton Meadow Fire. A conflagration order is in effect.
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 established an evacuation center for the Patton Meadow Fire at Daly Middle School, located at 220 South H St. in Lakeview.
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.
There is a Red Flag Warning in effect today from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. for abundant lightning on dry fuels.
With ongoing extreme fire danger and fuel conditions, even a small spark can quickly grow to become a large wildfire. 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.