Sweet Home – Wiley Fire Update: August 8, 2023 at 9:00 a.m.
Linn County Sheriff Michelle Duncan reports that the Wiley Fire, burning in steep terrain approximately 1 mile south from the end of Harris Road, off Whiskey Butte Drive, east of Sweet Home grew to approximately 10 acres overnight. Today, fire crews from the Sweet Home Fire District, Oregon Department of Forestry and Cascade Timber Consulting will be attacking the fire on land and in the air.
Crews will continue working on the bulldozer access roads they built last night, which are needed to get fire crews and equipment closer to the burning area, so they may fight it on the ground. Additionally, several aircraft will be pulling water from Foster Reservoir and Green Peter Reservoir, and dropping large payloads of water on the fire. This will be critical to fighting the fire, especially given the remote and steep terrain of the burn.
Roads in the area are closed to all persons except residents of the area. Also, deputies will be on the water on Foster Reservoir and Green Peter Reservoir to establish and maintain a safe perimeter for the aircraft to take on water. Please avoid the areas, so emergency response crews may safely conduct their important work.
The LEVEL 1: BE READY Evacuation Notice maintained. There are no indications that an increase in the fire evacuation level is warranted, at this time. The Linn County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Operations Center is in frequent communication with Fire Incident Command, and reassessing the need for any changes to the evacuation levels throughout the day and night. As a reminder, a LEVEL 1: BE READY Evacuation area is activate beginning at the intersection of Highway 20 at Whiskey Butte Drive, traversing along Whiskey Butte Drive to Cedar Creek Road, and extending south to Wiley Creek Road. Then, from the intersection of Cedar Creek Road and Wiley Creek Road, east along the south boundary of the Willamette National Forest area to Swamp Mountain Road, and along Swamp Mountain Road north to Highway 20. View the attached maps, and visit the Linn County Wildfire Map for more details. https://tinyurl.com/LinnCoFireMap
If you live in Linn County, or Benton County, please sign up for Linn-Benton ALERT so you are registered in our system to receive emergency notifications through EverBridge. Visit:https://www.linnsheriff.org/community-resources/emergency-preparedness/ to sign up.