9/8/2018 SW Oregon Fire Updates

Joint Information Center Fire Update September 8, 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 8)
FIRE NAME	ACRES	CONTAINMENT	PERSONNEL
TAYLOR CREEK FIRE	52,839	95%	79
KLONDIKE	129,444	51%	1,243
NATCHEZ	31,979	74%	315
MILES	49,350	65%	280

WEATHER

Temperatures through the weekend and into next week will gradually become cooler with higher humidity. Light winds currently out of the northeast may shift to northwest by this afternoon. The changing weather conditions may help to moderate fire behavior and allow for firefighters to engage in tactical firing operations as needed.

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, Natchez, and Delta 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.

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, 3313, and 2402-676 remain closed. 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.

Bear Camp Road will be closed to all non-fire traffic starting Saturday, September 8, 2018 at 12:00 pm. A Forest Closure Order issued by the Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest describes the closure as: Bear Camp Road (Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management road 23) closed from the intersection at the Merlin-Galice Road (Josephine County Road #2400 and #2401) west to the intersection with Forest Service Road 33 near Agness.

More information can be found at http://swojic.blogspot.com/p/current-closure-area-closures-garn-e-r.html

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.

-Closure Order No. 18-05-012 is in effect on the Happy Camp/Oak Knoll Rd, Klamath NF.

-Closure Order No. 06-10-22-18-61 is in effect on the Wild Rivers Rd, Rogue River - Siskiyou NF.

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 FIRE

Fire has merged with the previously reported Columbus incident and now will be included under Miles. Increase in acreage due to this merge.

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 public meetings 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/

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.