Wildfires ravage Wheeler County

Cooler temperatures and favorable weather are on the way for Wheeler County, giving hope to firefighters and locals who have confronted multiple wildfires this summer.

More than 10 fires are burning in parts of Wheeler County as of press time. Nearly 160,000 acres have burned in Wheeler County, starting with the Lone Rock Fire in July.

New fires, including the Buckhorn Fire which began on Monday, have sprung up and fires from neighboring counties have spread into Wheeler County's southern border.

Level 3 – Go Now – Evacuation orders were in place for the Shoe Fly Fire near Mitchell and for the Fossil Complex Fire between Fossil and Service Creek as of press time.

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) closed Highway 19 south of Fossil on Sunday and heavy smoke resulted in school closures in Fossil and Spray. The Mitchell school remained open on Monday but Fossil was preparing to close school for the remainder of the week.

The Fossil Complex Fire started on September 6 as The Service Fire, but stretched ODF crews converged coordination with the Kinzua Fire, Two Cabin Fire, and the Holmes Fire.

The Fossil Complex Fire has burned hot and moved swiftly through private timberland. Area landowners pay a fee of just under $3 an acre to the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) for fire protection. ODF's Incident Management Team 2 was deployed to the Fossil Complex Fire on September 6 and assumed command of the fire the following day.

Local firefighters from the Wheeler County Fire and Rescue worked with fire crews from the Oregon Department of Forestry to save Julia Henderson Pioneer Park. Local firefighters and landowners began fighting the fire after it started on the 6th but the fire grew quickly.

The fire jumped Highway 19 on Monday and doubled in size. Despite the fire's growth, crews were able to keep the fire from spreading further East of Highway 19 and additional resources were dedicated to create a line south of Kinzua Lane.

As of press time, the Fossil Complex Fire had zero percent containment.

The Shoe Fly Fire is in better shape. On Tuesday, firefighters established perimeter control and began focusing on fire suppression and mop-up work.

"We have turned the corner on the fire, we aren't trying to chase and catch it anymore," said Incident Commander Joe Hessel.

There is still 100 miles of fire perimeter to be mopped up and fire crews are expected to remain for several weeks.

But while things look to improve with cooler weather, firefighters are bracing for thunderstorms and high winds. But clearer skies have allowed for aircraft to return to the area to assist firefighters.

Updates will be provided at timesjournal1886.com.