Firefighters Respond to Three Lightning-Caused Fires Near Tiller
Firefighters responded to three small lightning-caused fires near Tiller after Tuesday night’s storm. Two fires were secured and transferred to the Umpqua National Forest, while crews continued working Wednesday on the 0.1-acre Elk Creek Fire.
Firefighters responded to three small lightning-caused fires near Tiller after several strikes were reported in the area Tuesday evening.
Crews began lightning reconnaissance and response efforts at approximately 9:47 p.m. Tuesday, September 1, according to the Douglas Forest Protective Association.
Two fires were located near Tiller Trail Highway and secured overnight. A third fire was discovered Wednesday morning.
1610 Fire
Crews found one lightning-struck tree with fire spreading into approximately 0.01 acre of nearby vegetation.
DFPA crews established a fireline around the incident overnight. Command was transferred Wednesday morning to the Umpqua National Forest’s Tiller Ranger District.
Joe Hall Fire
Firefighters located two lightning-struck trees and approximately 0.01 acre of fire spread in the surrounding vegetation.
Crews established a fireline and completed mop-up operations before transferring the incident to the Tiller Ranger District Wednesday morning.
Elk Creek Fire
DFPA and Cow Creek Tribal Fire Management crews discovered the Elk Creek Fire Wednesday morning.
The fire began at a lightning-struck tree and spread into approximately 0.1 acre of nearby vegetation. Crews launched an aggressive initial attack, stopped the forward spread and had completed a fireline around 50 percent of the incident at the time of DFPA’s update.
Firefighters will continue working until mop-up is complete.
Agencies participating in the response included:
- Douglas Forest Protective Association
- Tiller Rural Fire Protection District
- Days Creek Volunteer Fire Department
- Milo Rural Volunteer Fire Department
- Canyonville-South Umpqua Fire District
- Riddle Fire Protection District
- Cow Creek Tribal Fire Management
- Umpqua National Forest’s Tiller Ranger District
No homes or other structures were threatened by the fires.
DFPA said lightning can cause holdover fires that may remain undetected before becoming visible hours or days after a storm. Lightning reconnaissance will continue in the Tiller area for several more days.
Anyone who sees smoke or signs of a wildfire in an area recently affected by lightning should report it promptly.
DFPA noted that the 1610 and Joe Hall fires may receive different names or identifiers under the Forest Service’s incident-naming system. The names reflect DFPA’s records at the time of the initial response.
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