AZALEA, Ore. – Firefighters in Douglas County yesterday held a fire to four and a half acres that was burning alongside Interstate 5 at Milepost 92 south of Canyonville. The Oregon Department of Transportation closed one lane of northbound traffic for several hours to allow fire operations to contain the blaze. Crews remained on scene Tuesday night, mopping up hot spots and securing control lines. A preliminary fire investigation indicated that the cause of the Milepost 92 Fire was vehicle related.
Firefighters from the Douglas Forest Protective Association, Azalea Rural Fire Department and Canyonville – South Umpqua Rural Fire Department responded to a report of several small fires burning alongside Interstate 5 near milepost 92 northbound, Tuesday afternoon, July 21. Crews arrived on scene of the incident shortly after 1:30 p.m. and discovered that the fires were all located near each other and had already merged into one fire that was estimated to be one acre in size.
Due to the steep slopes and heavy fuel loading in the area, additional aviation and ground resources were requested. A 20-person hand crew and a water tender were pulled from the Days Creek Road Fire and diverted to the Milepost 92 Fire. Additional firefighting resources were also requested from the Glendale Rural Fire Department, Riddle Rural Fire Department, Tri-City Rural Fire Department, and the Myrtle Creek Rural Fire Department. Personnel from the Umpqua National Forest and the Bureau of Land Management also assisted with the fire.
Four Type 2 helicopters were used to slow the fire’s spread up the hillside while ground resources worked their way around the perimeter of the fire, digging fire line and installing hose lays.
The fire started only a few miles from last summer’s Milepost 97 Fire, which burned several thousand acres at about this same time in July.
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