All state forests, many OSU facilities closed in Oregon due to wildfires

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    LANE COUNTY, OR (KPTV) — State-managed forests Oregon are closed until further notice as wildfires rage across the state, according to the Oregon Department of Forestry.

Effective immediately, state forestland in Lane, Douglas, Coos, Jackson, Josephine, and Klamath counties are closed to public entry and use. This includes the Gilchrist and Sun Pass state forests in Klamath County.

The move also includes the Tillamook, Clatsop and Santiam state forests, and other ODF-managed forestlands in Lane, Douglas, Coos, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, Polk, Lincoln, & Benton counties, according to the department of forestry. The Santiam State Forest is closed until further notice.

“Closure is necessary due to the current extreme fire conditions that are endangering life, forest resources, and property as well as very limited fire and emergency response resources,” according to forest officials.

Other closures in northwest Oregon will last until at least Sunday, Sept. 13 at 11 p.m.

Oregon State University on Wednesday said would close many of its facilities statewide until further notice due to prolonged smoke and ash conditions from wildfires in the Pacific Northwest. The closure began at 2 p.m. Wednesday, impacting the following facilities:

Essential operations at the facilities will continue and include ongoing critical research, University Housing and Dining Services, public safety, and facility services operations, OSU said. Programs and centers serving children, including camps and child care centers on OSU’s Corvallis campus, remained open Wednesday until designated parents or family members were available to pickup their kids.

On Tuesday, the Mount Hood National Forest was temporarily shut down to the public, along with Oregon Parks and Recreation Department sites and all recreation areas managed by the Bureau of Land Management for the Northwest Oregon District.

Additional Bureau of Land Management closures and restrictions can be found at blm.gov/oregon-washington.

Gov. Brown on Wednesday said about the fires around the state, “This could be the greatest loss of human life and property due to wildfire in our state’s history.”

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