MP 97 Fire explodes to 6,000 acres Friday

DFPA News Release: Milepost 97 Fire – Friday Afternoon Update Active fire behavior has been observed again today on the Milepost 97 fire, which is now estimated to be 6,000 acres in size. The majority of the fire growth has been to the south / southwest of the original fire and is burning through a mixture of private industrial timberlands, O&C Lands Managed by the Bureau of Land Management, and lands held in trust by the Bureau of Indian Affairs for the Cow Creek Tribe. Both ground and aviation resources are currently engaged on the fire with seven helicopters, two large air tankers and two single engine air tankers supporting firefighters on the ground. Additional aviation resources and ground resources in the form of hand crews, engines, and heavy equipment have been ordered and are enroute to the incident. The Oregon Department of Forestry’s Incident Management Team 3 arrived in Roseburg this afternoon and were briefed on the status of the Milepost 97 Fire by representatives from the Douglas Forest Protective Association and the Bureau of Land Management. In addition, industrial landowners, tribal representatives, and other local, county, state, and federal agencies were at the in-briefing. ODF IMT 3 will assume command of the Milepost 97 Fire at 6:00 p.m. tonight. The objective set forth for the Incident Management Team is to extinguish the fire at the smallest footprint possible. Safety for the general public and firefighters is always the number one priority. The Incident Command Post for the Milepost 97 Fire will be established in Tri-City near Pruner Road and Industrial Way. Motorists in the area are asked to drive with caution due to an increase in fire related traffic in the area.