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A photo showing a wildfire near the office of the US National Weather Service in Medford, Oregon.
US National Weather Service Medford
  • Residents of Phoenix, Oregon, were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday due to an encroaching wildfire.
  • By Tuesday night, the wildfire had engulfed more than 1,500 acres in southern Oregon and led to the evacuation of southern Medford, a city of more than 80,000 people.
  • The blaze ignited Tuesday morning. It is currently 0% contained.
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A city in southern Oregon is facing imminent evacuation as wildfires aided by gusty winds threaten to consume it.

On Tuesday, most of Medford, Oregon’s 80,000 residents were told to be on standby for an immediate evacuation. By Tuesday night, the Medford Police Department announced an immediate evacuation order for the southwest of the city.

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An evacuation order was issued Tuesday night for southern Medford, Oregon.
Jackson County Sheriff's Department

Earlier, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office issued an immediate evacuation order for all businesses and residents in the are of Phoenix, Oregon, home to over 4,500 people.

Matt Jordan, a reporter with local television station KOBI, said a Medford apartment building containing more than 500 units had been evacuated, posting a photo showing fires encroaching on his location.

Igniting Tuesday morning, the fire — 0% contained — has already burned over 1,500 acres, local television station KDRV reported, citing the Oregon Department of Forestry. It also caused the closure of some 25 miles of I-5, from Phoenix to the border with California.

Fires are also raging outside Eugene and across the state, forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents.

"We do not have context for this amount of fire on the landscape," Doug Grafe, chief of fire protection at the Oregon Department of Forestry, said Tuesday, as Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.

On Tuesday afternoon, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown declared an emergency. The state also evacuated nearly 1,500 inmates from three of its prisons, according to OPB.

The northwest US has seen dozens of large fires over the past few days, threatening homes and lives not just in Oregon, but in California and Washington

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