Joint Information Center Fire Update - August 22, 2018

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Information for Southwest Oregon Fires is available at the Joint Information Center (JIC) at

Phone: 541-474-5305

Hours: 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Email: swofireinfo@gmail.com 

Blogspot: http://swojic.blogspot.com

Fire Summary (as reported on at 9:00 a.m. August 22)
FIRE NAME	ACRES	CONTAINMENT	PERSONNEL
TAYLOR CREEK FIRE	52,588	95%	421
KLONDIKE	76,098	33%	1280
NATCHEZ	21,342	70%	506
HENDRIX	1,082	90%	15
MILES COLUMBUS	34,455 10,518	39% 35%	1123 COMBINED

WEATHER

High temperatures will remain in the 90’s Wednesday with overnight lows in the 60’s. Winds are expected to be light. A weather system will move through the area Wednesday bringing lower temperatures and higher relative humidity beginning on Thursday. High temperatures will drop into the 80’s with overnight lows in the 50’s. No precipitation is expected.

SMOKE

Decreased visibility and poor air quality will continue as smoke from Washington and British Columbia settles into Southwest Oregon. A weather system is expected to move through the area on Wednesday bringing cooler temperatures and higher relative humidity. Winds are expected to remain gentle with a change to the North/Northwest which may reduce smoke impacts in some areas.

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.

RE-OPENING

Bear Camp Road and Peavine Road reopened on Sunday, August 19. Fire personnel and equipment will remain in the area, please drive with caution.

Galice Road remains open, restoring access to local businesses and boat ramps. Crews continue to patrol the area. Firefighters and equipment will remain in the area, please drive with caution.

All Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands along the Merlin-Galice Road remain open.

Grayback Road (Forest Highway 48) remains open to public travel. Short-term delays may occur.

CLOSURES

TAYLOR CREEK/KLONDIKE.

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. Effective 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. 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

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

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.

MILES AND COLUMBUS  

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 bounded 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.

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/

Hendrix-- https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5939/

Sugar Pine-- https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5966/

South Umpqua-- https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5940/

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.