Joint Information Center Fire Update August 3, 2018

DOWNLOAD FILE

Information for Southwest Oregon Fires is available at the Joint Information Center (JIC) at 541-474-5305 7 AM – 10 PM. Email:  swofireinfo@gmail.com;  blogspot: http://swojic.blogspot.com

Fire Summary (as reported on at 9:00 a.m. August 3)
FIRE NAME	ACRES	CONTAINMENT	PERSONNEL
TAYLOR CREEK FIRE	33,591	34%	1,154
GARNER COMPLEX	8,886 (Combined total for all fires)	75%	1,467
SUGAR PINE	8,128 (Combined total for all fires)	N/A	806
KLONDIKE	23,460	5%	412
NATCHEZ	8,432	15%	757
HENDRIX	1,082	70%	237
SOUTH UMPQUA	21,439 (Combined total for all fires)	18%	1,066
TIMBER CRATER 6	3,126	90%	308

WEATHER

Weather today will be similar to yesterday; mostly sunny, with smoky conditions continuing. Increasing humidity along with a cooling trend is expected into the weekend with a return to hotter and drier conditions starting early next week. Cooler temperatures through the weekend will provide some improvement to air quality.

SMOKE
The change in location of smoke production helped reduce direct impacts to the Rogue Valley yesterday and today. Winds from the north and northeast transported much of the smoke out of the Grants Pass area. These improved conditions are expected to persist through tomorrow afternoon. With northwesterly flow, conditions will moderate in valley locations around Medford and Ashland. Areas closer to fires will continue to see unhealthy levels of smoke. Smoky conditions could return tomorrow afternoon in some areas when westerly winds may introduce smoke to the area again.

For relief from smoke, travel to the Oregon Coast, or north into the Roseburg area.

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/#.

Per the Natchez Fire Incident Management Team, the community of Sunstar, California has been placed in a Level 1 evacuation “Ready” status. Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office has issued an evacuation order for two residence near the terminus of South Fork Road (Rd 17N32) and an evacuation warning for all residences accessed by the South Fork Road (Rd 17N32) and all residences accessed by the Grayback road north of the junction of South Fork Road (Rd 17N32) and Grayback road.

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

CLOSURES

GARNER

BLM roads, lands and recreation sites along the West Fork of Evans Creek that were previously closed due to the Grave Creek Fire and Pleasant Creek Fire within the Garner Complex were re-opened to the public due to lessened fire activity in the area.

TAYLOR CREEK

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.

There is a BLM closure order for lands and recreation areas along portions of the Rogue River. The order does not affect river operations, however access to the river is limited in the closed area. Information is available from https:/tinyurl.com/TaylorFireClosure.

The Oregon State Marine Board filed a temporary rule to close boating effective immediately on the Rogue River from Hog Creek to Galice due to the Taylor Creek Fire: https://www.oregon.gov/osmb/Pages/Rogue-River-Temporary-Closure.aspx.

NATCHEZ

The Rogue River-Siskiyou and Klamath National Forests have issued emergency area closures for the Natchez and Klondike Fires. Be sure to check the Forest websites for information about current conditions: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/rogue-siskiyou/alerts-notices and https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/klamath/alerts-notices.

TIMBER CRATER 6

An emergency closure order has been put in place on the Chemult Ranger District of the Fremont-Winema National Forest bordering Crater Lake National Park. For more information go to: www.fs.usda.gov/fremont-winema.

HENDRIX

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

SUGAR PINE

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.

SOUTH UMPQUA

The Umpqua National Forest has implemented emergency road and trail closures on the Tiller Ranger District because of the South Umpqua Complex. This closure order is a combination of roads and trails which had remained closed from last year’s fire season. With continued fire suppression operations, the closures are essential to allow for public and firefighter safety. In addition, this Forest 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/

Garner-- https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5935/

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

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

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

Timber Crater 6 -- https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5986/

PUBLIC MEETINGS

Hendrix Fire: There will be a Hendrix Fire Community Meeting tonight at 7 pm at the Ruch Branch Library, 7919 Highway 238, Ruch, Oregon. The meeting will also be livestreamed

on the Hendrix Fire Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/HendrixFire2018/.

Taylor Creek Fire: There will be a community meeting at North Valley High School, 6741 Monument Drive, Merlin, Oregon at 6 pm on Saturday, August 4.

The Red Cross has established a shelter at the Grants Pass High School for displaced residents affected by Level 3 (Go!) evacuations. Additionally, an animal evacuation center has been set up at the Josephine County Fairgrounds organized by the Friends of the Shelter and Southern Oregon Emergency Aid.

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.