Siskiyou Fire Declared a Conflagration: State Deploys Resources

A Red Cross evacuation center has been set up at the Ashland Armory.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski loos out the window of an Oregon Guard Blackhawk hilicopter at the scene of a past Oregon wildfire. Salem-News.com photo by Tim King

(ASHLAND, Ore.) - Oregon Governor Theodore Kulongoski has declared the Siskiyou fire burning just outside of Ashland a conflagration.

The declaration authorizes the state fire marshal to mobilize firefighters and equipment to assist local resources battling the fire.

The fire is approximately 100 acres and 50 to 100 homes have been evacuated.

The Office of State Marshal's Red Incident Management Team and structural task forces from Coos, Benton, and Linn counties and strike teams from Deschutes, Marion, and Lane counties are en-route to assist in protecting threatened structures.

A Red Cross evacuation center has been set up at the Ashland Armory. For more information regarding shelters, contact the Jackson County Emergency Operations Center at 541-776-7338.

Oregon's conflagration may be invoked only by the Governor and allows the State Fire Marshal to dispatch structural firefighters and equipment.

More information on Conflagration and Emergency Mobilization is available at OSFM website: oregon.gov/OSP/SFM/2008_Oregon_Fire_Service_Mobilization_Plan.shtml. Additional resources on surviving wildfires may be accessed at: • Wildfire…Evacuation Readiness egov.oregon.gov/OSP/SFM/docs/Comm_Ed/WUI/wildfire_evac.doc