Skyline Complex Fire, Aug. 20

ODF release, Aug. 19, 10:01 a.m. – CANYONVILLE, Ore. – Due to reduced fire activity, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office has lifted the Level 1 (Be Ready) evacuation notice for Ferguson Lane and Moore Ranch Road, north of the Poole Creek Fire. There are no evacuations associated with the Skyline Ridge Complex at this time, but evacuations on the Devil’s Knob Complex are still in effect. Check the Douglas County website at https://www.dcso.com/EVACUATIONS for more information. Firefighters have made significant progress on the Skyline Ridge Complex. All of the smaller fires are fully contained and containment for the Complex has risen to 93%. The number of personnel on the fire is dropping rapidly as crews are reassigned to other fires or sent home to rest. The northern part of the Poole Creek Fire and some areas near Stouts Creek did not burn clean. Known as “dirty burns”, these areas have enough vegetation remaining after a fire passes through them to continue to have small flare-ups. Slow, methodical work is needed to locate residual heat and cool it. While steep slopes and hazardous snags complicate the work, crews detect less heat in these areas each day. Gusty winds were expected Thursday afternoon and evening, increasing the danger of falling snags and other hazard trees. Firefighters will stay out of snag patches during the windy spells. The interior of the fire has some unburned pockets of vegetation which may burn in the coming days. Firefighters will continue to monitor for interior flare-ups and will take action if necessary. The public is asked to please avoid driving the roads being used by firefighters. Many of the roads have limited room for passing vehicles. On Friday, Oregon Department of Forestry Incident Management Team 1 (ODF IMT1) will return the management of the Skyline Ridge Complex to local fire managers. At that time, the Incident Command Post (ICP) near Myrtle Creek will close. This is the last daily update from ODF IMT1. The Team would like to thank the local community and partners for their support during this incident.