DFPA Responds To Two Weekend Fires As Fire Season Restrictions Continue

Firefighters responded to two vegetation fires in Douglas County on Saturday, Oct. 17, as fire season restrictions remain in effect across lands protected by the Douglas Forest Protective Association.

The larger fire burned 1.75 acres near the 300 block of Canyonville Park Road in Canyonville. DFPA, Riddle Fire Protection District, Canyonville South Umpqua Fire District, and Tri City Rural Fire Protection District responded at approximately 4:38 p.m.

Crews extinguished the fire and finished mop-up work Sunday, Oct. 18. The fire remains in patrol status. DFPA said the fire was human-caused, and the circumstances remain under investigation.

Earlier Saturday, DFPA and Lookingglass Rural Fire District responded at approximately 8:58 a.m. to a vegetation fire in the 1700 block of Coos Bay Wagon Road near Roseburg. That fire burned about one-tenth of an acre. Crews extinguished it, completed mop-up work, and placed it in patrol status.

The weekend responses come as DFPA continues to evaluate when local conditions will allow fire season to end. Although some Oregon counties have ended their fire seasons, those decisions depend on local weather, fuel conditions, and fire danger.

DFPA said several weeks of above-normal temperatures have dried vegetation throughout the Douglas District. Temperatures are beginning to fall, but substantial rainfall is still needed to restore moisture in trees and other woody vegetation, particularly at higher elevations where fuels may remain dry.

Debris burning restrictions and other fire season rules remain in effect on DFPA-protected lands. Residents and visitors are urged to follow those restrictions and use caution with activities that could start a wildfire.

Current fire season information and restrictions are available on the DFPA website.