Cedar Creek Fire escapes containment line, bringing smoke to Willamette Valley
Dry fuels and high temperatures led to increases in fire behavior on the southern edge of the Cedar Creek Fire and enabled the fire to escape containment lines near Lucas Lake over the weekend, bringing increased smoke to the Willamette Valley.
The Nakia Fire, burning 70 acres in Washington state north of the Columbia Gorge, has led to Oregon’s air quality dropping to moderate levels statewide and even unhealthy levels in and around Eugene.
A poor air quality advisory for the Eugene area has been issued through Wednesday afternoon by the National Weather Service.
The “slopover” area, where the Cedar Creek Fire crossed containment lines, is near the existing spot fire, according to a press release.
Crews utilized helicopter water drops on the existing fire and the new “slopover” area as well as air tanker retardant drops to slow the spread. Firefighters planned to utilize similar air resources to assist ground crews as weather conditions allowed.
Additional resources, including multiple dozers, were ordered and were expected to arrive Sunday as crews focused on keeping fire activity north of the Highway 58 corridor.
The Cedar Creek Fire, which started by lightning on Aug. 1, is roughly 122,210 acres in size and 38% contained as of Monday morning. A total of 730 personnel, 22 engines, three heavy equipment and eight helicopters are currently assigned to the fire.
Northwest Incident Management Team 12 assumed command of the fire Saturday night.
On the eastern edge of the fire, crews constructed a network of fire hoses along containment lines and used water bucket drops to cool and secure lines ahead of increased winds expected this week.
Weather conditions are expected to be “near critical conditions throughout the week,” according to fire officials, and widespread smoke and haze are expected to continue across the fire area.
Statesman Journal reporter Zach Urness contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Air quality in Eugene, Oregon, poor as Cedar Creek, Nakia fires burn
