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Wildfires threaten the communities of Canyonville and Tiller in Douglas County

A wildfire at night burning trees
Douglas Fire Protective Association
The Milepost 98 Fire burning on Thursday, September 5.

The Devil's Knob and Milepost 98 fires started Thursday. They're threatening nearby communities in Douglas County.

The Milepost 98 Fire is burning on the south edge of Canyonville. It’s currently estimated to be around 120 acres, according to the Douglas Forest Protective Association.

Rachel Pope from the DFPA said the fire is burning on the edge of the 2019 fire scar from the Milepost 97 Fire, which can lend some advantages.

“A lot of our firefighters have been here since or previous to 2019 and are very familiar with the area that’s out there," she said. "Also with different power lines and different types of resources that are in the area.”

Pope said crews can use the existing control lines from that previous fire as well. But, fire scars can also be dangerous, because of dead trees that could fall unexpectedly.

The nearby Devil’s Knob Fire is estimated to be around 1,500 acres, and is burning near the community of Tiller on Highway 227.

Low overnight temperatures have been beneficial for fire crews.

“As soon as that sun went down and the temperatures cooled, the fire activity had died down and decreased which gave the ability for firefighters that were on the line to make good work in putting in both dozer and hand lines around that fire," said Pope.

Heavy smoke has made it difficult for firefighters to use planes or helicopters to attack the fires.

Evacuation warnings and orders are in place just south of the Milepost 98 Fire as of Friday afternoon. And Level 1 evacuation warnings are also in effect just east of the Devil's Knob Fire.

There’s currently a heat advisory in the area through Friday night, with temperatures in the 90’s during the day.

Roman Battaglia is a regional reporter for Jefferson Public Radio. After graduating from Oregon State University, Roman came to JPR as part of the Charles Snowden Program for Excellence in Journalism in 2019. He then joined Delaware Public Media as a Report For America fellow before returning to the JPR newsroom.