Aircraft support at the Cedar Butte Fire. Photo: ODF
The Cedar Butte Fire is now 74 acres, crews have fully lined the fire, and are now focused on containment and mop up.In what the Oregon Department of Forestry said would likely be their last update on the fire in the Tillamook State Forest, the outlook was good. All aircraft aiding in firefighting efforts have been released, ODF said. Slash burning within the fires perimeter could continue to send smoke into the sky. This firefighting effort would not have been possible without the coordination and support from many members of the Tillamook community. Oregon Department of Forestry would like to thank the Tillamook Airport, Tillamook School District #9, Tillamook High School, the Tillamook YMCA, and the local vendors, restaurants, and stores that helped feed over 100 firefighters for the last four days, three meals a day totaling over 1,200 meals, the agency said.
The Oregon Department of Forestry asked the public to avoid Cedar Butte Road and not to travel past the Cedar Butte junction with Muesial Creek Road during the mop up phase. The fires cause remains under investigation. Read yesterdays update here
Cal Mukumoto, the head of the Oregon Department of Forestry announced his resignation in a brief letter Thursday during a Board of Forestry meeting, noting his last day would be Jan. 23. He'll temporarily be replaced by Kate Skinner, Tillamook District Forester.
A proposed toll road linking Forest Grove and Tillamook faced opposition, but Gales Creek residents would take any road they could get, according to a 1925 newspaper article.
"County Jail Filled to Overflow With Arrests Made" including Ernest Narver, Frank Kearns, Thomas Young, and Roy Kearns, all arrested at Balm Grove on liquor possession charges in Prohibition-era Gales Creek.
People are shooting exploding targets and firing hot lead into dry vegetation in the Tillamook Forest with predictable results: Five wildfires since May. These fires are all preventable, said Acting Forest Grove District Forester Stephanie Beall.
