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"FBI Portland and local law enforcement agencies have been receiving reports that extremists are responsible for setting wildfires in Oregon. FM-5364-OR. Erratic 40-plus-mile-per-hour winds created spot fires faster than the small 50-person crew could contain them, and eventually the . Three small communities lie along the highway: Ashland in the south, home of Southern Oregon University is known for its Shakespeare Festival; Talent, with a pre-fire population of 6,000 tucked in the pear orchards; and Phoenix to the north, is the last small town before arriving in the big city of Medford and home to many working families and a large community of retirees. We could invite friends over. My wife or my brother or something is having a birthday. Little parties became big parties. Afterward, Murdaugh drove to his mother's home in Almeda and made a series of calls and texts in what Waters said was an attempt to manufacture an alibi. Michael Jarrod Bakkela was charged with two counts of arson. The fire started north of Ashland, went up the I-5, Highway 99 corridor and just took out communities . The fires killed at least 11 people, burned more than 1,000,000 acres (400,000 ha) of . On September 8, 2020 a human caused fire started on the north end of Ashland, Oregon. With extreme fire conditions and a red flag alert in place, the winds and lack of moisture caused the fire to spread quickly. Sofia Rico, 25, regularly returns to the blackened and debris-strewn site of the mobile home park where she lived to spend time with family at her sisters home, one of a handful there that survived the fire. This was the night of Sept. 8 in Talent, Oregon. Head of the Emergency Operations Center John Vial said other cities have been criticized for using the EAS because, he claimed, most people get information from their phones. Strong winds from the east pushed the flames into th. Afterward, they were bouncing us back and forth between hotels. Police have opened a criminal arson investigation into at least one Oregon blaze, the Almeda Fire, which started in Ashland near the border with California and incinerated several hundred homes in . I had seen videos but its a thousand times worse than I could have ever imagined. When compared to some of the other wildfires raging in remote areas along the West Coast, the Almeda Drive fire burned less overall territory, but it was particularly ruinous because it struck well-populated areas. Toward the middle of January, I accidentally missed a phone call. The destruction is just unimaginable. Every day we were out looking. At work, I try not to think about anything else. They would sometimes come to my house to eat, sometimes to make cookies. In this map tracts with darker purple color have higher rates of poverty. In this map I used the Living Atlas layer USA Current Wildfires for the fires origin and perimeter. I am a Third-Year student at the University of North Florida studying Computer Science. Officials estimate that the Almeda fire destroyed more than 2,300 homes. I always say to myself that when I have a house again, I will make it look beautiful. When I moved in, she told me, The mobile home is mine, but now we have to fix it.. The Almeda and Obenchain fires has left many here wondering: will there be a next time? Despite their efforts, the investigation is still "open and ongoing with detectives from APD and JCSO following new leads, exhausting old ones and remaining dedicated to solving the case," the release stated. Thousands of homes were destroyed last year in the Almeda Fire Oregon's most destructive in years. We still do bonfires here. The cities of Phoenix, Talent, Detroit, and Gates in Oregon were substantially destroyed by the Almeda Drive and Santiam Fires respectively. The Sept. 8, 2020 fire destroyed over 2,400 homes in Southern Oregon's Rogue Valley. I want my bed again. Home is where families are. Here are some significant developments: The Glendowner Fire (also known as the Almeda Fire) has prompted the evacuation of parts of Medford, Ore., a city of 82,000 people, where many fled their homes. READ: Ashland Restaurant Is The 'Glue' For A Latino Community Hard-Hit By Wildfires. She recovered it from the ashes and kept it outside the R.V. The fire has been officially named the Glendower fire, but has also been referred to as the Almeda fire, because it started near Glendower Street & Almeda Drive in Ashland, Oregon. MEDFORD, Ore. - An incident report about the devastating 2020 wildfires in the Rogue Valley has been publicly released. That afternoon, the South Obenchain Fire, near Eagle Point and Butte in Jackson County, burned another 33 homes and dozens of other buildings. The season is a part of the 2020 Western United States wildfire season. Ott said that both bridges were in the open . ET): A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the fire Michael Bakkela is accused of starting later merged with the larger Almeda Fire. I listened to it and I broke down. The Almeda Fire started around 11 a.m., and the second one that Bakkela was accused of starting began around 5 p.m. Bakkela is not accused in the larger, more destructive Almeda Fire. Map of the Almeda Drive Fire (Glendower Fire) at 4:14 a.m. PDT Sept. 9, 2020. Drought intensity in the Pacific Northwest as of September 1, 2020. Some 29 local, state and federal law enforcement investigators have worked the case since the fire was reported at 11:04 a.m. Sept. 8, 2020, at 164 Almeda Drive, Ashland, according to the release. Assistance After a Disaster; Governments and Private Non-Profits; Individuals and Families. What's known, according to police, is that the fire started in a dry field along Almeda Street. Some residents refused to evacuate based on the rumors, choosing to defend their homes from the alleged invasion. Id finish my work and my neighbors would say, You come. I earn a little bit more than the minimum wage. It has killed two people, destroyed a thousand homes and laid waste to 5700 acres. You can find me at: [email protected] or https://livingatlas.arcgis.com, Michael Dangermond | ArcGIS Living Atlas | Driven by winds over 40 mph, it left a 9-mile-long path of destruction burning over 2,800 structures and killing 3 people in just a few hours. NASAs Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Active Fire layer provides a near real-time view of thermal hot spots at a 375m resolution. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, authorizing the use of federal funds for firefighting costs, said the fire it referred to as the Almeda Glendower Fire started on Tuesday and had burned . Heres Why They Stay. The course covered fire regimes and climate change in the Rogue Valley, the history of Bear Creek and the U.S. Clean Water Act, and a talk, tour and native planting day in Phoenix led by a the Rogue River Watershed Council. However, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office has maintained that the case is considered separate from the Almeda Fire's origin. Some nights you dont rest because you have to think about where you have to go, where you are going to ask for something or what youre going to do to get something. He pleaded no contest to causing a fire that damaged or destroyed 14 homes and killed several animals, as the separate Almeda Fire burned. She released a statement to us in October about the countys response to the fire. The combination of dry conditions, gusting winds, and a lack of resources turned the Sept. 8, 2020 brushfire into an inferno. Were trying to keep the same plan. On Tuesday, September 8 late morning a grass fire started near Almeda Drive in the Quiet Village area of Ashland adjacent to the City's wastewater treatment plant. The remains of homes and vehicles line a residential street in Talent, Ore., on Sept. 16, 2020. It was terrifying. . Meanwhile thousands of Oregonians who applied for federal disaster assistance discovered that they wouldn't get the help they needed to rebuild. Michael Bakkela. The southern Rogue Valley is known for Pears (in green) and wine grapes (in purple). After the fire hit, those homes went up in price. I added the World Hillshade layer to the basemap to show the terrain and set the blending properties of the cropland layer and the hillshade layer to multiply. "Rumors spread just like wildfire and now our 9-1-1 dispatchers and professional staff are being overrun with requests for information and inquiries on an UNTRUE rumor that 6 Antifa members have . Bern Szukalski | ArcGIS Living Atlas | When Ms. Ledesma visits the homes of friends, she often returns to the trailer and dwells on how hard it is to find something similar. Interviews with Martin Rocha and Gladiola Garcia were translated from Spanish by Eduardo Varas. I have 20 years worth of familiarity here and friends. During the fires, JCEM chose to use the countys Everbridge-provided citizen alert phone notification system instead of using a county-wide emergency alert system or EAS.. Oregon's Almeda Fire started as a brush fire on the morning of Sept. 8 and quickly became an urban fire. We were always at the pool, riding bikes, playing ball. A year after the Almeda fire, hundreds who are still in trailers, hotels and other temporary homes continue to grapple with that question. This map shows governmental lands with the Almeda Drive Fire perimeter. On Thursday another pedestrian was spotted lighting a match in the grass at State Route 512 and State Route 7. A man was arrested on arson charges Friday for allegedly setting a fire earlier this week in southern Oregon, while the region was already beset with the Almeda Fire. The Almeda Fire was not the only blaze that had fire crews scrambling and residents fleeing. When Oregon State Police troopers and Jackson County Sheriff's Office deputies arrived, Bakkela "was standing close to a very large fire threatening several homes," the sheriff's office alleged. We can see the fire spread over time through videos and photos shared through social media posts and text messages. Bakkela has never said, I did nothing wrong. He knows that what he did was reckless. We were trying to sell it to get a down payment for an actual house with a yard. I get stomach pain, a strong headache and part of my shoulders cramps up. Robyn Beck / Getty Images A truck covered with fire retardant is seen by the rubble of homes destroyed by the Almeda fire in Talent, Oregon, Sept. 15. READ: Report Analyzes Jackson Countys Almeda Fire Response, Calls For Better Coordination. But leaving was never an option. Even though they already told me it burned, I need to see it. We walked to the area. Maybe the small one is $85,000. The fire Bakkela started is considered to be one of the origins of the Almeda fire and the two quickly merged, said Oregon State Fire Marshal's office spokesman Rich Tyler. The fire that Bakkela is alleged to have started destroyed or damaged a hemp farm and 14 homes, the district attorneys office said. That's when a group of cyclists hopped on their cargo bikes carrying hundreds of gallons of water and boxes of food for people who couldn't leave their neighborhoods. The fire was finally stopped at the outskirts of Medford, a city of more than 80,000 people, avoiding an even larger disaster. . By Christoph Koettl, Caroline Kim, Drew Jordan and Arielle Ray. The fire scattered families throughout the valley, putting a strain on social life for Heather Spliethofs youngest daughter, Alyssa, in an already isolating year. A new one is $169,000. This week marks a year since wildfires destroyed thousands of homes in Jackson County over the Labor Day weekend. On Tuesday, residents called 911 after seeing a man light a fire behind their house in Phoenix around 5 p.m. local time, police said. A fire termed Almeda has engulfed nearly hundred homes in Talent Mobile Estates of Oregon city in the US. The American Community Survey created by the US Census provides information about the number of people living in poverty and many other useful demographic and economic attributes. According to findings, Anderson-Belt was the only Jackson County Emergency Management staff member at the time of the incident and there was one vacant position. It starts right next to a residential area, and people barely have any time to respond. You have to use the public ones. [8] On September 11, a man was arrested for arson, for allegedly starting a fire that destroyed multiple homes in Phoenix and merged with the Almeda Drive Fire. It was very hard to look at people who were crying and screaming. We lost our pets in the fire. [15], Senator Jeff Merkley, (D-OR) decried Donald Trump's comments blaming forest management for the fires as a "devastating lie. Speaking on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Merkley blamed climate change for the fires. I remember a white woman doing that. We had our Christmas tree up too. Many residents are still displaced. Update (May 11, 2022): In 2020, PETA wrote to the district attorney in Oregon's Jackson County, asking that accused arsonist Michael Jarrod Bakkela be held accountable for the suffering and deaths of animals resulting from a fire that he had allegedly started during the Almeda fire.Following our outreach, Bakkela was charged with eight counts of animal abuse. Melissa Brown, 80, has lived by herself throughout most of her adult life. The first origin point of the fire is still under active investigation, and arson is suspected there, as well. The report delves into the planned procedures in the event of such an emergency and how they played out in real life, reviewing the response and communications that are essential to first responders. In a statement, the sheriff's office said that while the Almeda fire burned, "residents witnessed Bakkela lighting a fire behind their house on Quail Lane." . Photos show the towns of Phoenix and Talent reduced to ashes after the Almeda fire tore through. Prosecutors do not believe the two fires merged and that railroad tracks acted as a fire break, Chief Deputy District Attorney Jeremy Markiewicz said. The fire Bakkela started is considered to be one of the origins of the Almeda fire and the two quickly merged, said Oregon State Fire Marshal's office spokesman Rich Tyler. He drives his kiddos, as he calls them, to school in the mornings and prizes the bilingual education theyre getting. Location of the Almeda Drive Fire in southern Oregon indicated by the red dot. Progression of the Almeda Drive Fire September 8-9, 2020. since December. FOUR people have now been arrested on the West Coast for deliberately starting blazes as wildfires rage. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. This community is amazing.. I want to rebuild., We thought we were fine before the fire. It felt as though I had no connections to the universe, to the world, to anybody.. The death toll from the Almeda Fire is expected to rise as search teams look through the destruction. The exact causes of the Almeda and South Obenchain Fires are still under investigation. ", JCSO and Ashland police brought in detectives from Medford, Central Point and OSP "to investigate this criminal act," and consulted with the Federal Bureau of Investigation "to provide a possible profile of who may be responsible for this crime.". I made the map below using the, Jackson Countys Damage Assessment Dashboard, NASAs Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Active Fire layer, ACS Poverty Status Variables Boundaries layer, Rogue Valley Preparedness and Recovery Hub, ArcGIS Web AppBuilder Roadmap for Retirement. In this map you can see how the fire was blown almost straight down the valley by the wind. Michael Bakkela, 43, was accused of setting a second fire as the Almeda Fire was raging in southern Oregon on Sept. 8, 2020. ASHLAND, Ore. - Crews are tackling a fast-moving fire that started in the City of Ashland, burned through Talent, Phoenix, and into parts of Medford. August 3, 2020. They left the courthouse around 9:10 a.m. according to the press pool report. The Almeda Drive Firealso known as the Glendower Firestarted on Tuesday morning at the north end of Ashland, a college town located in Jackson County, southern Oregon. The Labor Day fires challenged the Rogue Valley in ways that have often seemed insurmountable, but people here took those challenges head on. Elva Ledesma, 41, getting her son Adril, 2, ready for bed while her father sleeps on their couch. Ashland Police Chief Tighe O'Meara also confirmed with Oregon Live that the Almeda fire they're investigating wasn't caused by antifa. In another place, Ill be lost. The Almeda Fire started in Ashland and then burned through Talent and Phoenix. There are many more maps you could make about an event like this using the ArcGIS Living Atlas. The Almeda fire has killed two people and damaged or destroyed an estimated 700 homes. I had an enormous amount of original artwork: paintings, sculptures, carvings. The mobile home was going to cost $3,000. One of Gladiola Garcias first impulses after the fire was to help a stranger. The next day I got up early. Several animals also died . They would come over to play board games, play video games, listen to music, have bonfires. Ms. Garcia, 39, and her family her husband, three children and five dogs shuffled between hotels for four months until they moved into a FEMA trailer in June. I looked around: no family, no nothing. When Grandma had a stroke, we had to build a big ramp. We fought before to have what we had and the fire took it from us. I want to rebuild. I wake up at 7 a.m. and I take them to school. I know the people here, said Gladiola Garcia, whose family has been living in a string of temporary accommodations with help from relief organizations and the state government. Your home is the people.. . We make around $2,000 a month. By the time of the next satellite pass no hot spots remain that can be detected by this sensor. The police chief said in an email: "One thing I can . Some nights you don't rest because you have to think about where you have to go, where you are going to ask for something.. When Grandpa and Grandma came, we had to add another room. The rent is $1,400 for two bedrooms. At least four people died in the fire, according to OEM , and dozens remain unaccounted for. My children would always get in and lay down. "The residents can't go back to their house and sleep," Ashley says. The fire quickly overpowered firefighters. Everyone there was basically family. A spokeswoman for FEMA declined to comment on individual cases, but said the agency is committed to ensuring survivors get the resources they need to recover. Some county staff reportedly didnt even know where the Jackson County Emergency Operation Center was or what its role is in a response. Id be very surprised if anything survives. When he returned, he came upon the . I just survived there. We had paid $1,000 and were making $100 payments on top of our rent. Advertisement. By June, a deeper analysis of Jackson County's response to the fires called on government leaders to create a more coordinated emergency plan. "There are numerous homes, many of which are burnt completely, some are just heavily damaged, that are part of the 15 counts of criminal mischief," he said. My work is here. Were on 26 waiting lists. While the report commended their swift response to an overwhelming situation, it also highlighted key weaknesses including miscommunication, understaffing, and insufficient training. We threw all the clothes away. The area is popular with retirees and is home to the hardworking people who are the foundation of the regional tourism industry and provide the labor needed in the pear orchards and vineyards. Interstate 5 can be seen as a straight red stripe up the east side of the fire. The American Community Survey provides an estimate of poverty rates by census tract. Interviews have been edited and condensed. The Jackson County Sheriff's office says the suspect is Michael Jarrod Bakkela, a . Officials said the fire started Monday and strong winds pushed it quickly west, causing it to advance about 10 miles over the span of 30 hours. By, Inside JPR | Public Reports & FCC Applications. This modern pattern of web GIS provides a powerful way to understand, create and share. I came from Oaxaca, Mexico, in 2006. So we put together and posted a short . We planted strawberries. My favorite part about the trailer park was the trees during fall. Now we have to start over and fight. Driven by winds over 40 mph, it left a 9-mile-long path of destruction burning over 2,800 structures and killing 3 people in just a few hours. On September 8, 2020 a human caused fire started on the north end of Ashland, Oregon. The fire demolished more than 2,600 homes in Southern Oregon and many are still recovering from the damage. She went on to say, Learning what was done well and what could have gone better will be a great learning asset for our community. A cat is seen walking around a neighborhood after wildfires destroyed an area of Phoenix, Ore., Sept. 10, 2020. We analyzed satellite images, social media postings, videos and first-responder radio traffic to create a snapshot of the disasters destructive 24 hours. KRON On is streaming news live now ACFD first tweeted about the incident at 7:46 p.m. The fires killed at least 11 people, burned more than 1,000,000 acres (400,000ha) of land, and destroyed thousands of homes. We went back four days after the fire. Leaving them, she said, would be unthinkable. The incident was observed by a citizen who called 911 and after a short chase on foot the person is in custody. ASHLAND, Ore. Last September, after high winds pushed flames through a drought-parched strip of southern Oregon called the Rogue Valley, razing entire communities, as many as 8,500 people found themselves suddenly homeless and facing the same question: Should I stay? I wish it could have been closer to my sister. park. My bed was a king size. From the map below we can see that in a little over 2 hours the fire spread over five miles downwind to the south end of Talent. Maybe in at least three more years, well be there. A new fire map assembles the most important and timely information available for ongoing fires, with satellite detections and a smoke forecast. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. We dont have anything., READ: "The Scariest Thing Ever: Southern Oregon Evacuees Describe Almeda Fire". Caused by lightning; merged with the Beachie Creek Fire on September 8; the combined fires were briefly renamed Santiam Fire, 280 structures destroyed, 10 injuries. Every time, we tried. There was a voice mail. for eight months and finally an apartment. By Erik Neumann (Jefferson Public Radio) Jan. 13, 2021 5:30 a.m. Destruction after the Almeda Fire in Phoenix, Oregon. Around the South Obenchain Fire, which stretched from Shady Cove nearly to Butte Falls, 153 structures were lost. The Almeda Fire was particularly catastrophic. Almeda Fire incident report released. By total chance, that direction will take the flames along two highways that cross through three adjacent towns. 2020 Oregon wildfires. We want to hear from you. Ashland Fire and Rescue and the Ashland Police Department, along with Jackson County Fire District 5 . The first VIIRS pass over the fire was at 1:24 pm local time. Third-Year Computer Science with a love for technology! Over 1,000,000 acres were burned, and about 40,000 people were evacuated, with about 500,000 people in evacuation warning areas. It has been an honor to serve your wonderful community, and we wish each one of you a safe recovery", "Off duty firefighter dies on Archie Creek Fire in Oregon", "Real-time Assessment and Planning Tool for Oregon (RAPTOR)", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2020_Oregon_wildfires&oldid=1104764199, Caused by lightning; merged into the eastern portion of the combined. I moved here in 2001 when I was 60. Most of the furniture I had was wood. But being in this tight space is very frustrating. The Almeda Fire started around 11 a.m., and the second one that Bakkela was accused of starting began around 5 p.m. Bakkela is not accused in the larger, more destructive Almeda Fire. We can see that the fire has already moved around two miles. Recently, I had my right knee replaced. All my friends and neighbors have been moving around. "Although the case remains open, we are optimistic that with community support and assistance and continued investigations, we will close this case and give a small measure of resolution to the thousands of people affected," the release stated. It wasn't easy recovering from a catastrophic wildfire in the middle of a pandemic, but community members and businesses got creative. What keeps them from leaving? The Everbridge citizen alert system only works if youre already signed up for it or have a landline telephone in the alert area. Ott gave a summary of the events at the Feb. 21 City Council meeting. Assessing the precise nature of those structures lost will fall to local teams in the days and weeks ahead. [9] A separate criminal investigation into the origin point of the Almeda Drive Fire in Ashland is ongoing. The fire destroyed 2,428 structures, damaged another 134, claimed three lives and ravaged the communities of Talent and Phoenix. Please help our entire community by only sharing validated information from official sources.". The Almeda Fire started around 11 a.m., and the second one that Bakkela was accused of starting began around 5 p.m. Bakkela is not accused in the larger, more destructive Almeda Fire. September 2020 a brush fire started in Ashland Oregon went out of hand with strong winds and swept through the next three towns, Talent, Phoenix, and Medford. The fire started a little after 11:00am on Tuesday September 8, 2020 and hot, dry winds immediately began to push the fire northwest. Starting college during the pandemic . Weve lived in this R.V. According to the report, one of the strengths identified was a rapid response from multiple disciplines and agencies. Among the agencies identified was Jackson County Emergency Management, whose manager was out of a job just four months after the fire. Above all, theres a looming sense that more fires are sure to come. Check HERE for updates. Sep. 7After nine search warrants and 154 interviews in four states, the lead agencies investigating the origins of the massively destructive Almeda Fire aren't much closer to finding a suspect than they were two years ago, according to a joint press release issued Tuesday by Ashland police and the Jackson County Sheriff's Office.