McLean Creek Fire Considered Stable

The news is especially good for other areas, where fires continue to keep wildland crews moving at a fast rate.

(MCLEAN CREEK) - The threat from the McLean Creek blaze near Halfway, Oregon is now considered subdued enough for the structural firefighting resources sent from across the state to return home to resume protection of their own districts.

The McLean Creek fire was declared a conflagration by Governor Ted Kulongoski. Invoking Oregon's Emergency Conflagration Act cleared the way for the State Fire Marshal to mobilize resources to protect structures and dwellings in Baker County.

The act allows more firefighting resources to be diverted to help Oregon crews when a fire becomes a serious concern.

Supplemental structural resources from Washington, Umatilla/Morrow, Hood River, Malheur, Central Oregon and Union counties have been demobilized. Communications equipment is moving to the Black Crater Fire.

It is reported that local citizens warmly and openly thanked their visiting defenders. It is far from the first time these Oregonians have faced the threat of fire.

The remaining crews will continue mop-up operations. Residents returning home are reminded to be aware of the potential for dangerous flare-ups. Tips such as using the evacuation map to return home and caution around snags and hazard trees weakened by fire are some of the advice evacuees will find in After the Wildfire… egov.oregon.gov/OOHS/SFM/docs/Comm_Ed/WUI/After_a_wildfire.doc.

For the future, citizens are encouraged to become involved in strong risk reduction activities. This includes increasing the fire resistance of their homes by taking steps to keep embers from having a place to ignite a structure and reducing fuel, such as wood debris, which may lead fires to a structure.

Fire managers throughout the state are concerned about the continuing threat of catastrophic fires to communities and have organized local leaders to develop Community Wildfire Protection Plans. For more information visit the web at: egov.oregon.gov/OOHS/SFM (click on Wildland Urban Interface and Emergency Mobilization) and egov.oregon.gov/ODF/FIRE/FirePlans.shtml

The McLean Creek Fire is now part of the 43,671-acre Foster Gulch Complex. The complex has been declared a FEMA fire emergency making it eligible for federal reimbursement for part of the state's firefighting costs.