The Dixon Fire, originally called the Tiller Trail Fire, has burned 1,833 acres as of Monday afternoon.
Evacuation orders and warnings were issued over the weekend in communities east of Canyonville.
Officials say the fire has spread rapidly due to “erratic wind and dry fuels.”
On Monday, temperatures and humidity were expected to drop, which officials say will likely reduce the spread of the fire.
“Right now, we are very pleased with the progress that our operations folks have made in getting around this fire and slowing its progress,” said Kent Romney, fire information officer with the Oregon Department of Forestry.
Romney said forty residences have been identified within evacuation order zones. Roughly seventy people live within the area.
As of Monday, the fire was 0% contained. Crews are working to establish direct and indirect lines along the eastern and southern edges where the fire is burning into Umpqua National Forest. This means that firefighters are removing fuels both close to and further from the fire to prevent spread.
On the northern edge, crews are addressing smaller spot fires and conducting “mop-up” by removing burning debris in areas where the fire has burned.
Crews are also clearing hazardous debris from the Tiller Trail Highway, a frequently used route in and out of the area, according to Romney.
“It has increased the hazards of falling trees, snags, rocks, logs and other debris rolling down onto the highway,” Romney said. “So the highway has been closed, and we’ve had a pilot car occasionally going through when it's safe. Our focus today will be to get that highway opened up and all those hazards removed.”
Gov. Tina Kotek invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act Saturday evening, which allowed for additional state resources to be used to fight the fire. These include “additional structural task forces and an Oregon State Fire Marshal Incident Management Team.”
Rachael Pope, public information officer for the Douglas Forest Protective Association, said the fire was human-caused but is still under investigation.
“Multiple investigators are involved with determining what the cause of the fire was,” Pope said. “I can confirm that it is human-caused. It was not caused by lightning. That is all I know as of right now.”
For more information, visit the Dixon Fire 2024 Facebook page or the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.
