3:00pm Monday September 13
About 200 firefighters have worked throughout Monday on the Blackwell fire burning about one mile east of Gold Hill and one mile north of Interstate 5 in Jackson County. The fire broke out just before 4:00 Sunday afternoon. One structure burned Sunday near the point of the fire’s origin.
The fire remains active Monday, but crews have established a line around 100 percent of the fire, which is estimated at about 300 acres. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Keeping firefighters safe is a key mission of fire incident management. A safety hazard unique to this fire is there are an unknown number of abandoned mine shafts in the vicinity of Gold Hill from when Jackson County had significant gold and mineral mining occurring; Fire crews have maintained situational awareness in looking for shaft hazards and, when those mine shafts are detected, marking shaft locations for the safety of the next shift’s personnel. No worksite safety incidents related to these shaft hazards have been reported.
Twelve wildland engines (including a mix of 7 ODF engines and additional contractor engines) and nine crews (about 200 firefighters) continue work on controlling the fire. Homes and other structures in the fire area received protection from firefighters and engines mobilized as part of a structural fire protection task force, composed of personnel and equipment from fire districts in Jackson and Josephine counties.
Kevin Weeks
Oregon Department of Forestry / Salem