Prison inmates from across Oregon brought to Deer Ridge to help ‘defend in place’ efforts from nearby Cram Fire
Barney Lerten
MADRAS, Ore. (KTVZ) — About 70 state prison inmates were brought in from around Oregon to perform field work to help “defend in place” Deer Ridge Correctional Institution from the Cram Fire, which is about 2 1/2 miles from the medium-security facility, the Oregon Department of Corrections told KTVZ News on Friday.
DRCI, which houses nearly 1,100 inmates, is continuing fire preparedness and response efforts, including bringing the adults in custody (AICs) from other DOC locations who have been deployed to Deer Ridge, agency Communications Manager Amber Campbell told us.
“These crews are actively working in the field on targeted areas identified by the State Fire Marshal’s Office Liaison,” she said. “This includes work to reinforce fire lines and address fuel reduction needs. Their efforts are focused and strategic, based on the latest recommendations from our fire partners.”
KTVZ News Chief Meteorologist John Carroll said while the Cram Fire perimeter is about 2.5 miles northeast of the prison, aggressive firefighting and line-building efforts have kept it from moving any closer to the prison since earlier in the week.
Campbell told us in a statement, “DRCI remains under a Red Flag Warning, and while there is currently no direct threat to the facility, we are taking all necessary precautions All normal operations will continue at this time, apart from visiting, which has been canceled for the weekend to allow for proactive planning and reduce risk in the event of shifting wind conditions.”
“DRCI participates in the community Incident Command System (ICS) briefings,” she said. “DRCI has thorough emergency preparedness plans for evacuation and a plan to defend in place.”
Asked why out-of-area inmates were brought in for that work, rather than assign Deer Ridge inmates, Campbell told us, “While DRCI is a minimum-security facility, not all minimum classified adults in custody (AICs) are approved to leave the facility. Additionally, not all AICs are trained to perform fire crew duties. These 70 are AICs who have had fire crew training and been medically cleared for this type of work.”
Air scrubbers have been deployed throughout the institution, Campbell said, while DOC Health Services has triaged medically fragile AICs to determine the proper levels of care (on-site, off-site or transfer to another DOC facility if needed) for those individuals.