Cole Road Fire Burns 3.85 Acres, Several Outbuildings and Vehicles, No Injuries Reported

At approximately 3:32 p.m. on Sunday, September 10, 2023, crews from Douglas Forest Protective Association (DFPA), Sutherlin Fire Department, Oakland Rural Fire District, Fair Oaks Fire District, Douglas County Fire District No. 2, Kellogg Rural Fire District, North Douglas Fire & EMS, and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office responded to reported structure and vegetation fire near the 4900 block of Cole Road in Oakland, OR. Crews arrived at the scene to find heavy fire conditions from the affected structures and vegetation with a large black column of smoke visible to all surrounding areas. An aerial attack, with two helicopters, was essential to holding this fire in check while ground crews, including a DFPA dozer, quickly made progress in establishing a control line. With the mutual aid partner response, which also included additional resources of a 20-person hand crew, Task Force Leader, and a helicopter from the nearby ODF Incident Management Team 3, the forward spread of this fire was successfully contained at 3.85 acres with no reported injuries of firefighters or civilians. 3 outbuildings including one shop, one barn, and one pump house were lost. Two RVs and four vehicles were also lost; however, the main residence was successfully saved by the first arriving Sutherlin Fire and DFPA responders. The fire area was cleared by all responding agencies by 10:47 p.m. and all evacuation levels for the 4700 – 4900 block of Cole Road has been lifted by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. The cause of this fire is currently under active investigation and is not in correlation to the Tyee Ridge Complex. Fire Season is still active in the district and public and industrial use regulations are in place. Please continue to follow these restrictions for everyone’s safety. For more information on the fire restrictions that are current in the Douglas District, please visit www.dfpa.net. Via DFPA