By: Noelle Crombie
https://muckrack.com/noellecrombie
The Oregon Department of Corrections on Tuesday evacuated an estimated 1,400 inmates from three state prisons in Marion County in response to wildfires threatening the region.
The agency confirmed the evacuations from Mill Creek, Santiam and Oregon State Correctional Institutions. The men are being moved to the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem. Oregon Department of Corrections officials said prisoners will be housed in “emergency beds” at the state penitentiary and will be kept with people from their “home institution whenever possible.”
The prisons that were evacuated were in potential danger due to the growing threat posed by the Beachie Creek and Lionshead wildfires.
Agency spokeswoman Jennifer Black issued a statement saying state corrections officials are working with the Oregon State Police and the fire marshal and will “take any necessary action to safeguard our institutions and the people who work and live there.”
>>“It’s really amazing to me how much our employees and our adults in custody have been through over the last several weeks,” said Black in an interview. “Everything from not being able to see their loved ones for months and months on end to having to wear masks while working and living in the institutions and now dropping everything and moving institutions because of the fire.”
The three prisons that are being evacuated are located around the Salem area.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has declared a wildfire emergency in Oregon, where fire in the Santiam Canyon forced evacuations and wildfires elsewhere sent thick smoke across western Oregon, from Mount Hood to Lincoln County.
According to the governor, the Santiam Canyon fire, along with the Lionsehead fire, have burned an estimated 200,000 acres so far.
Earlier Tuesday, Marion County commissioners declared a state of emergency as frightening videos show structures burning in Mill City.
The evacuations also come as state corrections officials deal with the threat of coronavirus, which so far is linked to six deaths and nearly 1,000 cases among inmates and staff.
https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2020/09/spreading-wildfires-prompt-evacuation-of-three-oregon-prisons.html