LYONS, Oregon — The Santiam Park Fire is now 80 percent lined and all evacuations have been lifted, according to Oregon Department of Forestry.
Improved weather conditions allowed crews to aggressively fight the wildfire burning about 30 miles southeast of Salem. After the initial attack, crews were able to walk the line with GPS to accurately map the fire at 189 acres.
As of 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, all evacuations have been lifted. Crews will continue to work on mop-up and extinguish hot spots.
The fire jumped the Santiam River on Tuesday night and was threatening 35 homes and 30 outbuildings, though the Oregon Department of Forestry said none had been destroyed as of Wednesday afternoon.
“Some folks seem surprised to see this fire on the landscape in March,” said Incident Commander Blake Ellis. “But as firefighters, we are trained to consider the conditions, not the calendar. The dedication of the local fire departments and crews combined with the involvement and support of the local community continues to impress me.”
The fire was reported Tuesday afternoon at the North Santiam State Recreation Area off Highway 22 near Lyons.
Level 3 (Go) evacuation orders were made for people living west of Neighbors Lane, including 25th Avenue, River Loop and Oak Lane on Tuesday night, though they were lifted Wednesday morning.
Frances Chote said she and her husband returned to the area Tuesday evening to find their home in an evacuation zone. They figured it out when they hit a roadblock.
“We turned around and left and I got thinking, 'Oh my medications are in there at the house that I had to have' and so they let us back in to get that and a few other things, then we jumped back in the car and got back out,” said Chote. The couple stayed with friends for the night.
Berva Bennett lives right along the Santiam River. She was not evacuated. But she was prepared, as the fire burned right across the river from her.
“Well I started packing things up, that’s what my kids told me to do so I did; I was ready in case something happened”, said Bennett. But I knew I was pretty safe because of the river out here I thought.”
The North Santiam State Recreation area is also closed.
Crews are using a helicopter and multiple dozers and engines to fight the fire, which has been spread by strong east winds. About 85 personnel are currently engaged in the fire, according to ODF.