State of Emergency

Governor Kitzhaber declares a statewide 'State of Emergency' due to the potential for wildfire...

That declaration could clear additional resources to help battle the 84,000 acre 'Barry Point' fire...

Deputy State Forester Paul Bell visited the Barry Point fire on Thursday.  That fire has now grown to over 130 square miles...

"Come down to this fire because of the complexity of it, and trying to touch bases with our folks, and see how things are going, and making sure folks are getting everything they need."

The Governor's 'State of Emergency' declaration clears the way for additional resources, such as National Guard helicopters.

But U.S. Forest Service helicopter crew member Collin Brozka notes that fire fighters will still need some help from Mother Nature...

"The last couple days it's slowed down a little bit because there's so much smoke, the pilots can't see.  They don't fly if they can't see and be safe about it."

The fire has been spreading to the east, and southeast.

Ashley Dubrey of the Oregon Department of Forestry reports that evacuation notices are still in place in several areas...

"We have 66 residences, 5 commercial properties, and about 130 outbuildings.  There's a lot of grazers out there, a lot of little outbuildings."

The Deputy State Forester notes that the danger exists beyond the 'Barry Point' fire...

"Right now, we're in pretty critical fire weather across the state of Oregon."

The cost of suppression efforts on the Barry Point fire have now topped ten million dollars.

The Lake County fairgrounds is serving as a command post for over 1300 fire fighters.  The hope to move out before the Lake County Fair gets underway on August 30th.