GLENDALE, Ore. – Aviation and ground resources continued to work on the Bear Springs Fire Thursday afternoon. The fire is located about seven miles west of Glendale in Douglas County. It is now estimated to be about 20 acres in size. The fire is burning in a mixture of old growth timber and younger trees.
Today, firefighters have used multiple helicopters to help cool the fires spread while ground resources, including firefighters and bull dozers, worked to complete fire trails around the fire. One large air tanker and two single-engine airtankers (SEAT’s) were also used earlier today to drop fire retardant on the fire. Since then, drift smoke from surrounding fires have moved into the area, which has limited visibility, causing the fixed-wing aircraft to be grounded for safety reasons.
Crews recently reported that there is a fire trail around the majority of the fire, some of which is hand line and some is dozer line. Firefighters are also working to install hose lays around the fires perimeter. Once fire trails are completed around the fire, crews will work to improve and hold the fire lines.
Currently, there are no homes threatened by the Bear Springs Fire and no evacuations have been issued. One firefighter received multiple bee stings while working on the fire and was removed from the fire line as a precautionary measure. No other injuries have been reported.
The cause of the Bear Springs Fire is currently under investigation. Anyone with information about the cause of the fire is asked to contact DFPA.