Wildfire ash blankets a car in Scotts Mills on Thursday, Sept. 10. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)
SCOTTS MILLS – Despite evacuation orders, some people in this rural community on the east side of the Willamette Valley decided to stay put on Thursday, more concerned with potential looting than fire.
They got good news on Friday, Sept. 11, as fire officials said that a shift in weather was giving fire crews a chance to starting building containment lines around the Beachie Creek Fire, which had been advancing towards the community.
By Friday morning, the fire had burned more than 180,000 acres and hadn’t merged as officials feared with the Riverside Fire, another large wildfire burning to the north in Clackamas County.
But the area around Scotts Mills and Silverton remained under alert to evacuate should the fire begin to spread.
The Beachie Creek Fire was reported on Aug. 16 but its cause hasn’t been established, officials said.
Lance Grimes talks with granddaughter Ariana outside of Grimes’ home in Scotts Mills. Despite the level 3 evacuation order, Grimes plans to stay to defend his property from looters. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)
A view looking down over Silverton on Thursday, September 10. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)
Chris McLaughlin, manager at the Gallon House in Silverton, mixes a drink for a patron on Thursday, Sept. 10. Operating on limited hours with the only two employees still in town, The Gallon House intended to remain open until an evacuation order came through. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)
Jeremy Huyck, right, and Michael Spragg, talk while watching football at the Gallon House on Thursday, Sept. 10. The two planned to remain in Silverton until an evacuation order was given. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)
Bonnie Dombrowsky, left, and neighbor Paula Morgan talk in Dombrowsky’s driveway in Silverton on Thursday, Sept. 10. The pair were in a group of people from four neighboring homes who had decided to stay until an evacuation order came down and shared information between them in the meantime. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)
Wildfire ash is caught in a spiderweb in Scotts Mills on Thursday, Sept. 10. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)
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