Current:Home > ScamsGolden Fire in southern Oregon burns dozens of homes and cuts 911 service-InfoLens
Golden Fire in southern Oregon burns dozens of homes and cuts 911 service
View Date:2024-12-23 14:41:42
BONANZA, Ore. (AP) — A wildfire that started over the weekend in southern Oregon has burned dozens of homes and caused area residents to lose 911 service and internet, state officials said Tuesday.
The Oregon State Fire Marshal said preliminary damage assessments from the Golden Fire east of Klamath Falls showed that 43 residences near the town of Bonanza were destroyed. More than 40 outbuildings were also consumed by fire.
The fire marshal said most of the structures are believed to have burned Saturday, when the fire started and spread rapidly in hot weather and gusty winds. Crews were unable to access the structures before Tuesday because of unsafe conditions, the fire marshal said.
Other news Decades in prison for 3 sentenced in North Dakota fentanyl trafficking probe Three more men charged in connection with an alleged international fentanyl ring have been sentenced this month to decades in federal prison. Packers’ youth has LaFleur feeling as if he’s a first-year coach again heading into training camp Matt LaFleur enters his fifth season as the Green Bay Packers head coach feeling as though he’s just getting started. A maternity ward in Oregon is the scene of fatal gunfire Gunfire has erupted in a maternity unit of an Oregon hospital, fatally wounding an unarmed security guard and leading to renewed calls to protect health care workers from increasing violence. Is Jordan Love the future? Packers CEO says it may take ‘at least half a season’ to find out Green Bay Packers CEO Mark Murphy says it will probably take “at least half a season” for the team to know what it has in new starting quarterback Jordan Love.Sherry Booth told KATU-TV that she lost her home to the fire.
She said she was in town when she got a call saying the fire was headed toward it.
“They were closing everything off, but we know a back way in so we did get to the house,” she said. “We had to go try to save our animals, and the cops were at the house and they were just telling us to grab our animals, go, go, go.”
By the time Booth returned home, her house was engulfed in flames.
“I did have insurance,” she said. “We’re going to see what we can do, what they have to say.”
The fire also significantly damaged a fiber optic line affecting most of the 8,200 residents in neighboring Lake County, causing a loss of 911 service, internet and phone service. The Lake County Board of Commissioners declared a state of emergency Monday because of the outage and said an estimate for restoring the line wasn’t yet known.
911 calls were being rerouted to Klamath County, and county emergency officials have been working with multiple state agencies to restore emergency connections, the commissioners said in statement. Temporary internet towers have also been put up and are providing services, commissioners said.
Fire crews also have been coordinating with utility companies that are working to repair damaged infrastructure, fire officials said Tuesday.
“Our hearts go out to the Bonanza community and those affected by the Golden Fire,” said Matt Howard, Oregon Department of Forestry Team 2 incident commander. “Our job now is to fully suppress this fire so the recovery process can begin.”
As of Tuesday morning, the blaze had burned about 3.2 square miles (8.3 square kilometers) and was 9% contained.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, the Klamath County Sheriff’s office said. According to initial information, the blaze may have started on private property being used to grow marijuana illegally, law enforcement officials said.
Crews have made progress on the fire, holding it within its original footprint, although high potential exists for the fire to keep growing because of heat, high winds and available fuel, officials said.
Some mandatory evacuations were lowered Tuesday, but several hundred homes are still impacted by evacuations at all levels, officials said. A shelter remained open and served more than 80 people over Saturday and Sunday nights, according to the state fire marshal.
An air quality advisory also remains in effect for the central and southern parts of Oregon into at least Wednesday night because of the Bedrock Fire burning between Eugene and Bend and the Flat Fire burning in southwest Oregon.
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality spokesperson Laura Gleim said air quality levels will vary between unhealthy and hazardous, improving at times during the day then getting worse overnight, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
veryGood! (817)
Related
- Jack Del Rio leaving Wisconsin’s staff after arrest on charge of operating vehicle while intoxicated
- The Baffling Story of Teen Rudy Farias: Brainwashed at Home and Never Missing Amid 8-Year Search
- Oppenheimer Moviegoers Spot Mistake in Cillian Murphy Scene
- Project Runway All Stars' Designer Anna Zhou Talks Hard Work, Her Avant-Garde Aesthetic & More
- She's a trans actress and 'a warrior.' Now, this 'Emilia Pérez' star could make history.
- The Unsolved Murder of Tupac Shakur: Untangling the Many Conspiracy Theories About the Rapper's Death
- Inside Gisele Bündchen's Birthday Girls' Trip With Daughter Vivian and Twin Sister Patricia
- Everything to Know About Vanderpump Rules Season 11
- Statue of the late US Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights icon, is unveiled in his native Alabama
- Shakira Is Facing Another Tax Fraud Investigation in Spain
Ranking
- Travis Kelce's and Patrick Mahomes' Kansas City Houses Burglarized
- Get a $20 Deal on $98 Worth of Skincare From Peter Thomas Roth, Sunday Riley, Benefit, Elemis, and More
- Hermès Muse Jane Birkin Laid to Rest After Daughters Carry Her Casket Into Funeral Service
- Don't Miss Black Friday-Level Roku Deals on Smart TVs and Streaming Sticks
- Wisconsin agency issues first round of permits for Enbridge Line 5 reroute around reservation
- Kylie Jenner, Cardi B and More Stars Who've Shared Plastic Surgery Confessions
- Former Columbia University OB-GYN to be sentenced for sexual abuse conviction
- Influencer Christine Tran Ferguson Sends Message to Supporters After Death of 15-Month-Old Son
Recommendation
-
IAT Community Introduce
-
Travis Barker Pens Heartbreaking Letter to Teen Drummer After His Death
-
Megan Fox Caught in Middle of Scuffle After Man Attempts to Punch Machine Gun Kelly
-
Joey King Shares Glimpse Inside Her Bachelorette Party—Featuring NSFW Dessert
-
As US Catholic bishops meet, Trump looms over their work on abortion and immigration
-
Why Oscar De La Hoya Says He Let Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler Raise Daughter Atiana
-
Separate boat crashes in Cape Cod and the Ozarks leave 1 dead, 13 injured: Police
-
Seaside North Carolina town overrun with hundreds of non-native ducks