Medford, Ore. — The wildfire that roared to life in Douglas County on Tuesday hopped a containment line Wednesday afternoon and has since grown to 500 acres in size.
The Douglas Forest Protective Association, which first responded to the Cable Crossing Fire 5 miles east of Glide near Highway 138, reported the flames jumped the line at about 5 p.m. in the midst of ongoing containment efforts.
“As aviation and ground resources moved to attack the new spot fire, a wind shift caused the fire to quickly grow out of control,” an agency news release reads.
The flames were last reported moving southeast toward Umpqua National Forest lands.
No homes are in their path, with the closest structures reportedly being more than five miles away from the flames.
No evacuations have been ordered yet, DFPA officials said.
An incident management team from the Oregon Department of Forestry has been called in to take over firefighting efforts. ODF incident management team crews took over Thursday morning.
Their command post is at the French Creek Ranch near Glide.
One traffic lane on Highway 138 remains open to motorists, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation website, www.tripcheck.com, though officials caution intermittent delays will still be standard throughout the day.
Drivers who pass will be directed by a pilot vehicle and flag crews.
Firefighters first responded to the scene at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday after receiving reports of two small fires near milepost 23 of the highway, located on its north side.
An updated count on crew members and resources fighting the fire was not immediately available Thursday morning.
