9/6/2018 Southwest Oregon Fires Joint Information Center (JIC) Update

Joint Information Center Fire Update September 6, 2018

Information for Southwest Oregon Fires is available at the Joint Information Center (JIC) at 541-474-5305 7 AM – 8 PM.

Email:  swofireinfo@gmail.com

Blogspot:  http://swojic.blogspot.com

Fire Summary (as reported on at 9:00 a.m. September 6)
FIRE NAME	ACRES	CONTAINMENT	PERSONNEL
TAYLOR CREEK FIRE	52,839	95%	79
KLONDIKE	117,458	51%	1,177
NATCHEZ	31,273	70%	392
MILES COLUMBUS	38,503 10,697	63% 58%	271 Combined
HUGO ROAD FIRE	199	75%	211

WEATHER

Conditions today remain hot and dry and upper level winds are forecast to shift from southwest in the morning to west-southwest in the afternoon. Highs in the 80s are expected with 5-10 mph winds. At this time there is no precipitation forecasted for southwest Oregon. These conditions will be favorable for extreme fire behavior. These conditions pose a challenge to fire crews, along with steep terrain, extreme fire behavior, and dry fuels.

SMOKE
Winds may push smoke into the surrounding communities as fires become more active throughout the day. Winds are currently bringing smoke into the area from the Klondike and Natchez fires. Expect to see smoke activity increasing throughout the day as unburned fuel within the interior of fires becomes more active. Until seasonal rains arrive, stumps, logs and other ground fuels will continue to produce visible smokes on the interior of all of the fires. Air quality can be checked at:  http://oregonsmoke.blogspot.com/

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO!

There are many area and road closures because of past and present fire activity, see the links below for further information. Fire restrictions are in place. Contact or visit specific land management agencies for the most up to date restrictions.

EVACUATIONS

More info about evacuation levels and preparedness can be found at http://www.rvem.org.

Josephine County current evacuation information is available at the Josephine County Sheriff’s website at http://www.co.josephine.or.us/News.asp?SectionID=180.

Jackson County current evacuation information is available at the Jackson County Sheriff’s website at http://jacksoncountyor.org/sheriff/News.

Douglas County current evacuation information is available at the Douglas County Sheriff’s website at http://www.dcso.com/#.

Information about fire evacuation levels is also available from the Joint Information Center at 541-474-5305.

Evacuees seeking assistance can contact the American Red Cross at (888) 680-1455.

CLOSURES

These are the most recent closures and will be amended as new information becomes available.

HUGO ROAD FIRE

Due to progress made by firefighters on the Hugo Road Fire all current evacuation levels are being downgraded to a Level 1 “BE READY” notice. Level 1’s will remain in effect until the end of the fire season.

We would like to remind the public firefighting operations are still ongoing in the area and would ask you to drive carefully while in the Hugo area and watch for firefighters and equipment on or near the roadway.

There will be no more updates on the Hugo Fire unless significant changes occur.

TAYLOR CREEK/KLONDIKE FIRE

The Rogue River-Siskiyou NF Taylor Creek Fire Emergency Area Closure Order 06-10-22-18-62 closes national forest lands near the Taylor Creek Fire for public health and safety. This closure is in effect July 19, 2018 through October 31, 2018, unless sooner rescinded. Detailed information and a map of the area closure are available at https://tinyurl.com/RRSiskiyou.

A temporary forest closure order is in effect for the area around the Klondike Fire. Forest Roads 4103, 4105, 2512, and 2402-676 remain closed. A temporary road closure order 06-10-22-18-77 is also in place for Bear Camp Road between Agness and Galice. Information on current conditions can be found at the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/rogue-siskiyou/alerts-notices.

The BLM has issued a closure order for Bear Camp Road, Peavine Road, and the surrounding land. The affected area is Bear Camp Road from the Merlin-Galice Road (Josephine County Road #2400 and #2401) to the Forest Service boundary. Current closure information can be found at http://swojic.blogspot.com/p/current-closure-area-closures-garn-e-r.html or http://bit.ly/BLMFireRestrictions

NATCHEZ FIRE

Closure orders are in effect on Klamath National Forest and Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest within the vicinity of the Natchez Fire. A closure order was issued August 5th, effective until the Natchez Fire is declared out. This closure order was expanded as of September 6, 2018 to include more area to the west of the previous closure shown on the map.  For details on the closure order please go to the Klamath National Forest Website at www.fs.usda.gov/klamath.

HENDRIX FIRE

The Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest Hendrix Fire Area Closure for the southern portion of the Siskiyou Mountains Ranger District remains in effect. Detailed information and a map of the area closure are available at https://www.fs.usda.gov/rogue-siskiyou.

KLAMATHON FIRE

An area closure remains in effect for BLM lands southeast of Ashland, Oregon including a portion of the Soda Mountain Wilderness https://tinyurl.com/KlamathonClosure. The Pacific Crest Trail is open in the Soda Mountain Wilderness and Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, while the Lone Pilot Trail remains closed. A map of the closure is available at http://tinyurl.com/KlamathonClosureMap.

MILES AND COLUMBUS FIRE

An Emergency Road and Area Fire Closure has been issued by the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. All portions of the Forest west of Forest Roads 68 near the northern boundary and all of 6640 are closed. This area is bordered on the south by BLM and private land, to the north and west by the Umpqua National Forest and to the east by open portions of the Rogue River- Siskiyou National Forest.

The Umpqua National Forest has implemented emergency road and trail closures on the Tiller Ranger District because of the South Umpqua Complex. The order includes previous closures on the Diamond Lake Ranger District and North Umpqua Ranger District to create a current and comprehensive list. More information is available at:  https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/umpqua/alerts-notices.

PUBLIC MEETINGS      

No meetings are scheduled at this time

LINKS TO SPECIFIC INCIDENTS

Klondike-- https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5998/

Natchez-- https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5948/

Taylor Creek-- https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6058/

Miles/Columbus-- https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5966/

Hugo Road Fire-- http://www.swofire.com/

When you want to help….

In a time of crisis people naturally want to reach out and help.  We appreciate those efforts and have a few suggestions for you to consider.

Most appreciated by firefighters:

• Thank you notes and banners
• Donation information:  http://www.roguevalley.recovers.org
• Donations to Wildland Firefighter Foundation:  http://www.wffoundation.org

Other ideas:

• Join or support your local fire department or emergency organizations- they appreciate your generosity since they are the first responders in many cases.
• Donate to local charitable organizations like the Red Cross.
• Donate to local food banks, which sometimes get forgotten when fires impact a community.
• Create and maintain a defensible space around your home!  Give emergency responders and yourself a safe area to defend your home in or retreat to, if necessary.

Note: Fire camps cannot accept food items due to health and federal contract regulations.  We feed our assigned fire crews three meals a day plus snacks.