Emergency services fight fires in Oakridge with counter fire

Alexis Heath loves her new job working with fire.

The Roseburg native was on her first assignment as a wildfire fighter earlier this month, fighting the Chalk Fire north of Oakridge. Before fighting wildfires, she worked in housekeeping and childcare.

“This is a lot more fun,” Heath said.

As brown smoke filled the forest air, Heath walked along an old logging road deep in the Willamette National Forest, red torch in hand, dropping a burning mixture of half diesel and half gasoline onto the lush green brush every few feet.

Her crew, made up of firefighters from across the country, was tasked with battling a 300-acre island in the Chalk Fire, one of the fires north of Oakridge.

An island, in wildfire fighting terms, is a collection of unburned vegetation within the fire perimeter. According to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, islands near a control line can flare up later and spark spot fires beyond the control line.

A backburn is a controlled firefighting technique that fights fire with fire. Firefighters deliberately set low-intensity fires in vegetation along firebreaks such as roads or rivers to burn natural fuels. The lack of fuels makes the wildfire slower, more predictable, and easier to control.

2 Fire Sandwich Oakridge

Nearly 10,000 acres have burned around the city of Oakridge, causing air quality to deteriorate to 626.8 on the Air Quality Index on August 3, according to the Lane Regional Protection Agency. The Air Quality Index is a number that indicates health effects people may experience when breathing. Anything above 301 is considered hazardous.

The Chalk Fire, where Heath’s team was working, had burned 4,930 acres and was 50% contained as of Saturday. Further south and along Hills Creek Reservoir, the Coffeepot Fire had burned 5,907 acres and was 35% contained.

Chalk and Coffeepot wildfires are part of a complex of seven fires in the Willamette National Forest in Oregon

The Chalk and Coffeepot fires are part of a series of seven lightning-sparked wildfires that have burned a total of 10,862 acres in the Willamette National Forest.

They are under the command of the Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 1, to which 1,042 personnel are assigned.

Firefighters like Heath will continue to work with low-intensity fire operations to further contain the fire region.

August 5 was day 16 of Heath’s 21-day contract.

“It was originally planned for 14 days,” she said. “We can only extend it for another week. After that, we’ll have three days of rest and relaxation. Then hopefully we’ll be the first truck on the board and will be called immediately.”

“I get to play with fire and be in the woods,” Heath said. “The fact that I get paid for it is a bonus.”

Elliott Deins is a foreign reporting intern at the Statesman Journal. Reach him at [email protected]

2 Fire Sandwich Oakridge

Chalk and Coffeepot wildfires are part of a complex of seven fires in the Willamette National Forest in Oregon

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