SALEM, Ore. – On Sunday night, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act for the Copperfield Fire east of Chiloquin off Sprague River Road in Klamath County. As of 8:00 Saturday night, the fire was estimated between 1,500 to 2,000 acres. Gusty winds near 40 miles per hour pushed the fire to rapidly grow.
The Klamath County Sheriff’s Office has levels 2 and 3 evacuation notices in place. Those near the fire should follow the sheriff’s office for any changes to evacuation levels.
Southern Oregon is under a Red Flag Warning through tomorrow evening.
“The weather drove this fire, and Oregon will continue to face challenging weather conditions over the next three weeks. Fire season isn’t over yet and I encourage everyone to stay vigilant,” Chief Deputy Travis Medema said. “I cannot thank our incident management teams and task forces headed to this fire enough. They have had a busy season and responded no matter the time, no matter the situation.”
The OSFM Red Incident Management Team and eight task forces are being mobilized to the fire. Two task forces from Lane County and Central Oregon are part of the response and were sent through Immediate Response earlier Saturday evening.
The OSFM Red Incident Management Team will be briefed Monday at 10 a.m. and will be in unified command with the Oregon Department of Forestry Incident Management Team 3.
For the latest on the fire, please follow the South-Central Oregon Fire Management Partnership.