Joint Information Center Fire Update September 4, 2018

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Joint Information Center Fire Update September 4, 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 4)
FIRE NAME	ACRES	CONTAINMENT	PERSONNEL
TAYLOR CREEK FIRE	52,839	95%	82
KLONDIKE	112,307	42%	1,226
NATCHEZ	29,492	70%	343
MILES COLUMBUS	35,825 10,300	60% 57%	232 Combined
HUGO ROAD FIRE	199	45%	211

WEATHER

Temperatures are expected to be hotter than normal with highs in the 80s and north/northeast winds for Southwest Oregon. Weather conditions will be favorable for high fire activity through mid-week. 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. An increase in smoke is expected due to drier conditions and an increase in fire behavior. 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

HUGO ROAD FIRE

Josephine County Sheriff’s Office has issued Level 3 “GO” and Level 2 “BE SET” evacuation notices for homes surrounding the fire. Residents in these areas should have received a Citizen Alert call notifying them of the evacuations. If you have not signed up for Josephine County Citizen Alert, Josephine County’s emergency notification system, you can sign up on-line at www.rvem.org.  For those under evacuation notices, a human and animal shelter has been established at the Josephine County Fairgrounds by the American Red Cross and Josephine County Public Health.

Level 3 “GO” evacuation notices are for the following residences: Oxyoke Road from Three Pines Road to Hugo Road, Hugo Road from Oxyoke Road to Three Pines Road, Three Pines Road from Hugo Road to Oxyoke Road, Monterico and all secondary roads off of Monterico, Hitching Post Road, Hasis Road, Trevor Lane, Dakota Lane, Templin Avenue and Wilson Lane. Community members can visit http://bit.ly/JoCoFireFirstResponseMap to enter their address to see if they are currently in an evacuation area.

The following roads are closed with roadblocks in place: Monument Road, Three Pines, Russell Road, Jess Way, portions of Hugo Road, and Tunnel Loop.

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 06-10-22-18-73 is also in place for Bear Creek Road between Agness and Galice. Information on current conditions can be found at the Rogue River National Forest website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/rogue-siskiyou/alerts-notices.

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. For details of 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      

KLONDIKE WEST FIRE - Community meeting Wednesday, September 5, 2018 at 5:00 p.m. Meeting will be held at the Agness Community Library 3905 Cougar Lane, Agness, OR

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.