Cleanup begins on sites destroyed by South Obenchain fire in Eagle Point

EAGLE POINT, Ore — As cleanup on sites hit by the Almeda fire nears completion, crews are beginning to work on homes destroyed by the South Obenchain fire last fall.

The fire burned about 32,671 acres and 33 homes were lost.

John Vial, Jackson County Emergency Operations director, said crews are working on about two to three homes a day. Due to the smaller size of the damage, he expects the work to be completed quicker compared to work in Talent and Phoenix.

A date on when the work is expected to be completed has yet to be determined.

“The tricky part of nailing that date depends on what they find during cleanup,” Vial said. “If they find sites with lots of asbestos, that takes a different crew, and takes a little longer. But this work is going to be completed in weeks and not months.”

The Almeda Fire is about 95% complete with less than 50 sites left to be cleaned.