Thousands displaced by Oregon wildfire

MARION COUNTY, Ore. (KATU) - On Tuesday, Stayton just after noon looked as if it should be the evening hours.

No sunlight made it through the thick smoke blanketing the sky.

Thousands are now displaced because of the Beechie Creek fire. Many people were regrouping at a park and ride in Stayton.

For some, leaving meant taking on the fire themselves.

“We actually spent last night fighting a fire right in front of our house,” Tyrone Trotter said.

Marion County Sheriff’s Office said a number of residents had to get treated for burns from attempting to fight the fire.

But flames weren’t all they were up against.

Trotter had to improvise when gridlock happened coming off a hill into Silverton.

“Our horse trailer got grid-locked down into town, so we had to walk 2.5 miles down here so we could get off the hill running,” he said.

Trotter says they packed what they could and made sure their horses were safe.

“The horses have been good, but they are instinctual they know when something is wrong and its time to go,” he said.

But like so many others, they never expected anything like this.

“Never seen anything like this before, just get them out and hope and pray for the best,” Trotter said.

The National Interagency Fire Center says there are at least 87 major wildfires currently burning across the U.S.

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