South End Fire reduced to Level 1 ‘Be Ready’ evacuation levels in Clackamas County
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Evacuations for the South End Fire in Clackamas County have reduced to Level 1 “Be Ready” status after spurring sudden Level 3 evacuations early Friday morning.
Firefighters told KOIN 6 News air dropping water from a helicopter helped to turn the situation around, though the fire still came within just a few feet of some people’s homes.
The fire is just outside of Canby along Highway 99 East where the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office has closed the northbound lanes between South Haines Road and Canema Road.
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Fire officials said no homes, people or animals were harmed. However, those affected told KOIN 6 News that the threat earlier in the day forced the evacuation of more than $5 million in livestock after authorities had earlier announced any threatened animals can be moved to the Washington County Fairgrounds.
Officials are still urging Level 1 evacuations from South End Road from Highway 99E to Reflection Lane, west to Milepost 16 on Highway 99E and south to South End Road.
An evacuation map is available online.
“Once the flames went up at the equestrian barn and we could see those, I think that’s when it got pretty scary,” said Karlynn Riedlinger, who lives near the South End Fire.
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Reidlinger captured video of the incident, showing flames approaching her barn around 2 a.m. Friday morning.
“That’s’ when we started grabbing hoses, grabbing sprinklers and just started really watering everything down seeing if we could protect our home,” she said.
Reidlinger said her family packed up their things in the car since they live in one of the dozens of homes threatened by the fire.
The Canby Fire District said the blaze broke out on a cliff roughly 50 feet from Highway 99. The steep terrain was too dangerous for crews to battle it from the ground. However, once a helicopter got involved in the firefighting effort, it turned things around.
“That helicopter was amazing. Probably saved us four days of work trying to get down into those hotspots,” said Canby Fire District Fire Chief James Davis.
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After successfully protecting the homes along the cliff’s edge, Canby Fire called in the helicopter from another fire to drop water from the Willamette River onto the flames. Firefighters said the effort paid off.
“One-thousand gallons per drop,” said Izak Hamilton, a spokesperson for Clackamas Fire District. The close proximity of the river allowed for a very fast turn-around time, allowing crews to reduce the fire from a Level 3 evacuation to a Level 1 evacuation, Hamilton said.
While the 5-acre fire is now under control, fire crews warned residents to be on watch for the next 24-hours and beyond.
“What’s scary is, fire season is just getting started,” Hamilton said.
“I thought 2020 was a busy year, this is going to top 2020,” Davis added.
Riedlinger said since her family moved to her home in the area in 2020, they’ve been asked to evacuate twice.
Officials said fire crews will remain on fire watch over the next 24-hours alongside enhanced patrol by the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office.
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