Turner Fire burns 30 acres of former prison farmland

A fast-moving brush fire Wednesday afternoon burned two empty structures and about 30 acres of farmland between Salem and Turner before firefighters brought it under control.

The fire drew more than 100 firefighters and first responders and 38 emergency vehicles from agencies in and out of Salem, including two aircraft that traveled from The Dalles to drop water on the blaze.

The land once functioned as a working farm for people incarcerated at the nearby Mill Creek Correctional Facility, which closed in 2021.

Firefighters had the blaze largely under control by 4:45 p.m., about three hours after it was reported. Two structures and grass fields still smoldered around 5:30 p.m. as firefighters mopped up.

A Salem Fire Department firefighter was injured early on in the blaze. He had non-life-threatening injuries and remained at Salem Hospital overnight Wednesday for observation, according to Assistant Fire Chief Brian Carrara. Carrara declined to share the specifics of his injuries.

Carrara said that crews will be watching for hot spots throughout Wednesday night and into Thursday. Wednesday night’s forecast included 15 mph winds, which could cause flare-ups.

Evacuation orders were downgraded Thursday morning on Turner Road near Southeast Rising Iris Lane. Residents in that area were able to return home, but should be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.

Sirens and smoke drove some people out of their homes for safety or to watch.

After a big boom, the power went out at Meghan Steele’s house on Steele Lane, off of Southeast Gath Road. Then her friends who were paddleboarding on Turner Lake texted her saying they could see smoke. Steele had to leave for an appointment anyway so she decided to look for the smoke on her way out.

But her driveway was blocked in by a semi-truck, still tangled in lines.

“I mean, they’re almost hit all the time by the semis that go through here and a semi just finally took one of them out and ended up grabbing another one along the way,” Steele said in a phone interview.

The semi-truck struck down the wires, which ignited dry grass, according to Sgt. Jeremy Schwab, Marion County Sheriff’s Office spokesman.

The communication cable was attached to PGE’s power poles, and the impact caused tension on the poles that downed the power lines, said Portland General Electric spokesperson Drew Hanson in a Friday email.

“PGE is not aware of any reports of low hanging powerlines in this area,” Hanson said.

Steele turned around and called her husband, Seth. At that point, her friends on the lake told her they could see flames and that they were concerned for her safety. 

By the time he made it home from work, the semi-truck had been cleared, and PGE crews were at the scene moving lines away, she said. 

The couple kept their phones on in case neighbors needed a helping hand. Soon after the fire started, a friend sent Seth a screenshot of a Facebook comment from a stranger who was unable to reach their friend’s trapped dogs. Seth had just moved his brother’s kids and pets from their nearby home and called to offer help.

The dogs were in a Level 2 evacuation zone that didn’t require immediate action, he said, but he was ready to go get them if needed.

“I just did what I thought any regular person should and would do in that situation,” he said.

Seth Steele wasn’t alone. Social media flooded Wednesday afternoon with posts and comments from good Samaritans on standby willing to offer their trailers and help to get horses and cows out of the danger zone.

The smoke was visible from the Salem airport, appearing like a large gray and white cloud in the distance.

Closer, it was clear that the smoke climbed high above the flames and often changed colors between white, gray, a green color that was almost black.

Emergency vehicles bearing the names of area agencies lined Turner Road with flashing lights. Responders came from Silverton and Turner to help Salem agencies. 

Police cars drove by the scene. Several times, engines drove to nearby fire hydrants to refill before looping back to aid in containing the blaze.

As flames continued to swallow farm structures, around a dozen people filtered in and out of a field on Southeast Turner Road over the afternoon to watch.

People gathered, sharing what information on evacuations and causes they learned from officials, media sources and friends.

One woman called her friend living over the hill, worried about whether she could evacuate. A man recalled the details of listening to initial radio dispatch and hearing firefighters evacuate cows. Two girls sat side by side in front of their parked car, watching the scene.

Joshua Walters was driving to his house up Turner Road around 2 p.m. when he was met with smoke, traffic cones and a police car.

The smoke billowed out from the structures burning hundreds of feet away from where he stood as he made a phone call to a coworker while standing outside of his truck.

Walters used to work just across the road from where the flames rolled that afternoon as a production coordinator for Oregon Corrections Enterprises. 

The company is a semi-independent state agency that partners with the state Corrections Department to employ incarcerated people, providing them skills for later finding employment.

“This is all old prison farmland. That was all part of the old processing plants. The hog and the beef steers and all that were always housed up there,” Walters said, pointing up the hill at the structures that were caught on fire. “This was known as Hog Hill.”

Corrections Enterprises formerly partnered with the now-closed Mill Creek Correctional Facility, which operated a farm spanning over 2,000 acres near Turner.

When the prison closed in July 2021, Corrections Enterprises stopped tending to the farmland.

“We haven’t been out on this site for a long time,” Walters said. “It’s been well over a year since we moved out of these buildings.”

Walters said that, to the best of his knowledge, all that was left in the barns was old equipment.

“I think it was leased out at one point in time; there was a farmer who had cattle,” he said. 

As of around 4:15 p.m., the fire continued southwest of where it started, almost following along Turner Road. One structure continued to burn after others had caved in, still smoking.

Matthew Barton, a resident of Crawford Crossing Apartments in Turner, was among the small group of evacuees who traveled to Cascade High School in south Turner. The Red Cross was on scene to support anyone needing help late Wednesday afternoon. 

Barton said he could see black smoke from his home, and glimpses of fire between the trees.

“It’s something I’ve never been through before. I lived in California most of my life, so seeing wildfires out there is certainly different than seeing something up close,” Barton said.

Barton said that he’d been thinking about fires more, with more of them being in the news, spurred by climate change. He has the Pulse Point app on his phone, which monitors fire dispatching, and saw updates of the fire spreading closer to his apartment.

“That’s when I kind of had a feeling, like: ‘Okay. It’s going to get worse, probably, before it gets better.’ Then I started seeing ash come down, too, like ‘Oh, God,’” he said. 

Around 3:30 p.m., he said, police told everyone in the complex to evacuate immediately. He’d already gotten started on packing his essentials, including clothing, water, toothpaste, medications and his pet cat, Mitzy. 

“Very scary situation, for sure, but at least we were prepared,” he said. His girlfriend was still wearing scrubs at the evacuation site, having rushed there straight from work. 

Barton’s dad worked in firefighting, he said.

“I trust their abilities that they can contain this fire as best as they can,” he said. “Fire people are very tough.”

This story was updated at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, July 10, to reflect downgraded evacuation orders.

This story was updated again at 4 p.m. Friday, July 11, with a response from Portland General Electric, who said that the semi truck hit a telecommunication line, not power lines. A quote identifying power lines as being directly hit has been removed for accuracy.

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LIVE UPDATES: Crews stop advance on Turner Road fire

Reporters Ardeshir Tabrizian and Joe Siess contributed.

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