As night fell over the smokey ridges of rural south Salem, firefighters entered their second night of trying to keep the estimated 124-acre Vitae Springs Fire at bay, many approaching 48 hours on the job.

Evacuation orders remained in place as weather reports predicted shifting winds overnight on the Vita Springs Fire. Level 3 (Go) evacuations affected 119 households, while 516 were at Level 2 (Get Set), in the area that could be affected if winds shift. About 40 pieces of equipment staffed by two to five people each were on the fire Saturday.

Primary objectives in fighting the fire were evacuation, containment, confinement and, ultimately, extinguishment, said Salem Deputy Chief Reed Godfrey. The challenges were great in a densely populated, heavily forested area of rugged terrain.

So far, no injuries or structure losses have been reported.

On-duty firefighters received additional support including: 

• More than 20 agencies, mostly volunteers, responding to calls for mutual aid,
• 19 off-duty Salem firefighters voluntarily responding to staff reserve apparatus in the event other fires emerged (which they did),
• Three 20-person contract hand crews are expected to join the effort in the morning, hiking along cliffs and valleys of the containment zone to find and dig out fire spots.

Particularly vital to the fire-fighting operation was upstaffing of grass fire apparatus and planes through the Office of the Oregon State Fire Marshal, Godfrey said.

“Because of them, we were able to limit the size of the fire,” Godfrey said. 

The resources were particularly vital because of Red Flag Warning conditions. A Red Flag Warning means the combination of low relative humidity, dry conditions, high heat and high winds result in extreme fire danger. 

Red Flag conditions also mean the fire isn’t expected to allow recovery time overnight as typically happens when humidity rises and temperatures fall. Godfrey expected the fire would be staffed through tonight, tomorrow and the next day. 

Meanwhile, at about 1 a.m. Saturday, as Salem firefighters were fully engaged at Vitae Springs, a call came in about a multiple-alarm fire at 1802 Best Road NW. Two houses were fully involved in the fire, crews on reserve apparatus stopped the fire at a third house, where it had started to attack the garage, and protected three other houses from burning. 

Firefighters were called again today to a smaller fence fire in West Salem. 

“If we had regular staffing for the Fire Department, nobody would have been on that fire,” Godfrey said. “Instead, we had extra resources.”

Despite the extra staffing, most Salem crews have been up for 24 hours and some up to 48 hours, he added. 

“We’re up as long as we’re needed.”

Marion County Sheriff’s Office oversaw evacuation, while Salem Police used drones today to map the fire. 

Marion County Emergency Operations worked with community partners to activate resources Friday night, including a Red Cross shelter at Judson Middle School. In addition, two alpacas, four goats, two sheep, nine chickens, two ducks, and one horse are being sheltered at the Marion County Fairgrounds.

Willamette Valley Communications Center, working on short staff and long hours, dealt with the heavy fire call load in addition to the other needs of their three-county, 30-agency coverage area. The challenge was made even more complex because they had to patch together communications between mutual aid partners who don’t have the same 800-megahertz communications systems as Salem.