With nearly 21,000 acres burned, the Douglas Complex Fire is leaving a mark on the landscape.
On Monday,NBC 5 gotafirst look at some of the destruction.
The wildfire is separated into three different branches.
Fire officials tookNBC 5’s Kyle Aevermannthrough the Dads Creek and Panther Butte Branch which are the areas responsible for prompting evacuations.
From a distancemost residents can’t see much of what the Douglas Complex Fire.
“We are currently working on the incident with 29 engines, 2 dozers, 8 water tenders, and 1,024 personal,” said Cheyne Rossbath, Public Affairs Officer for the Douglas Complex Fire.
The fire has burned two vehicles and one outpost building, as of Monday morning no other structures have been touched.
The weather has had a major impact on the fire since Sunday afternoon, butthe weather has actually been helping fire crews.
“The high relative humidity has been helping firefighters at night by putting the fire down,” said Rossbath.
Bryan Wilkes from the Oregon State Marshall’s Office has been fighting the blaze since Saturday.
“The fuel conditions are really critical right now, so we are about a month a head in fire season essentially. The conditions out there are now are what we see in late August,” said Wilkes.
In his 25 years of fighting fires, he says there are similarities between the Douglas Complex Fire and many others.
“It is similar to fires I’ve been on down here. Williams creek and the Rattlefire near Glide. Usually you have scattered homes in a rural area [like this] but it hasn’t been too close to a town,” explained Wilkes.
The crews are working 12 to 16 hours day, but Wilkes says as tiring as fighting the fires can be, there’s one thing that keeps him and the thousands of others going.
“The community is really supportive.”
Among those hanging signs of appreciation is Kelsey McUene.
“They are the bravest people I’ve ever seen, truthfully. And the pictures online are really hard to look at.You should see them what these people are walking into, for our lives,” McUene said.
She says she knows fire crews are working around the clock to make sure that her and her nearby neighbor’s home don’t turn into nothing.
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