GW Fire in Central Oregon Declared a Conflagration‏

The "GW" comes from George Washington Mountain, located near the central Oregon fire.

Governor Ted Kulongoski at the Black Butte Fire last year Photo by: Tim King

(SALEM, Ore.) - Oregon Governor Theodore Kulongoski declared the GW Fire located near Black Butte as the state's second conflagration of 2007.

The declaration cleared the way for State Fire Marshal Nancy Orr to mobilize firefighters and equipment to assist local resources battling the fire. The request to invoke the Oregon Conflagration Act was made by Deschutes County Fire Defense Board Chief Tay Robertson.

The fire is threatening the community of Black Butte and has burned more than 7,300 acres and threatens 1210 structures. Structures are a mix of residences, commercial buildings and outbuildings. Evacuations have been ordered for Black Butte. There are no reports of injuries or structures lost.

The Office of State Marshal's Red Incident Management Team and four structural task forces are on scene. The task forces are from Yamhill, Linn, Benton and Clackamas counties.

The Governor invoked the Conflagration Act and ordered the State Fire Marshal to dispatch firefighters and equipment to help local resources provide structural protection. More information on Conflagration and Emergency Mobilization is available at OSFM website: http://egov.oregon.gov/OSP/SFM/Emergency_mobilization.shtml.

Additional resources on surviving wildfires may be accessed at:

• Wildfire…Evacuation Readiness: http://egov.oregon.gov/OSP/SFM/docs/Comm_Ed/WUI/wildfire_evac.doc

• After the Wildfire: http://egov.oregon.gov/OSP/SFM/docs/Comm_Ed/WUI/After_a_wildfire.doc