PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Though the Riverside Fire is 26% contained as Tuesday begins, the fire still rages over 138,020 acres of land in Clackamas County and is the 4th-largest wildfire burning in Oregon

Evacuation levels for the City of Estacada were downgraded on Monday and Clackamas County Commissioner Martha Schrader said, “We are slowly making progress.” Still more than 5000 people can’t yet return home.

The Clackamas County Evacuation Zone as of 1 p.m., September 21, 2020 (Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office)

Some other changes to evacuation levels were also announced Monday. Sheriff Craig Roberts urged residents to stay out of Level 3 evacuation areas and respect road closures. He said increased traffic in these areas creates additional safety concerns for firefighters and other first responders.

Roberts reported on two cases of arson that happened within the county but were not connected to the wildfires. He said crime has remained low because of increased patrols by law enforcement.

  • Additional areas have been removed from evacuation level status and returned to “Normal” — coinciding with the scaling back of Level 1 “Ready” (green) and Level 2 “Set” (yellow) areas across the county.
  • The area of the Wilhoit fire has been returned to Level 1 “Ready” (green).
  • The immediate areas surrounding the Dowty Fire, Unger Fire, and Riverside Fire remain at Level 3 “Go” (red).
  • The City of Estacada is now at Level 1“Ready” (green).
  • The Mt. Hood National Forrest remains under a closure order
  • The 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew is now in effect for Level 3 (red) areas only.

A temporary flight restriction is still in effect — so fire officials ask that you keep all personal drones on the ground. They say if a drone that is not part of their operation is spotted in the area, they will have to ground all fire aircraft.