Firefighters on the Blackwell Fire, located 1 mile east of Gold Hill and 1 mile north of Interstate 5, made good progress today and completed a fireline around the burned area. The fire is now 20 percent contained and its size is 315 acres.
Crews established hoselays in several sectors and focused on extinguishing burning material within 100 feet of the fireline. Helicopters were used during the afternoon to make water drops on isolated fires within the burned area.
All evacuation advisories were lifted today, and roadblocks on Blackwell Hill Road were removed at 8:00 p.m. tonight.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Brian Ballou
Oregon Department of Forestry, SW Oregon District