JACKSON COUNTY, Ore. – Nearly 3,000 structures burned in the Almeda Fire that swept through the communities of Talent and Phoenix last week.
In the immediate aftermath of the fire, the Oregon State Fire Marshal estimated 600 structures were damaged or destroyed. That number stuck until local authorities took over management of the Almeda Fire, and they had a drastically different estimate with 2,357 residential structures destroyed. That number came from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office on September 13. During a press conference on September 18, Sheriff Nathan Sickler said just over 2,800 structures were lost. The latest estimate includes buildings like houses, apartment complexes, and garages. It is not an estimate of how many people lost their homes.
The sheriff’s office is counting three deaths related to the fire with zero “critical missing” people remaining.
Sheriff Sickler the Urban Search and Rescue team is wrapping up and could be done Friday.
As areas affected by the Almeda Fire slowly reopen, the sheriff’s office will continue patrols with help from the Bend Police Department.
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