July 15, 2015
Effective July 10, 2015, the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest has re-opened portions of the area previously closed for public safety in the Buckskin Fire area. The McGrew Trail is a popular destination for motorized recreationists that begins west of O’Brien and travels to Sourdough Camp, and is now open in its entirety.
Areas remaining closed to provide for public health and safety due to active fire and extreme fire conditions include the areas included in the fire perimeter, Buckskin Peak, Franz Meadow, and Doe Gap. A map of the closure area (which includes the fire perimeter), as well as the official Forest Order, may be obtained at the Gold Beach and Wild Rivers Ranger District offices, and the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest office in Medford. Additionally, the information is available online on the Forest website: http://www.fs.usda.gov/news/rogue-siskiyou/news-events
The closures are effective through October 31, 2015, or sooner if conditions are favorable to rescind the order. The Forest Service will notify the public when the closure order is no longer in effect.
July 14, 2015
[ Fire size revised to 3/4 acre at 3:00 pm ]
Shortly after 1:00 p.m. today, Soda Mountain Lookout spotted a smoke rising from the Soda Mountain Wilderness. The fire is estimated at 1/4-acre in size and a helicopter from the Oregon Dept. of Forestry’s Medford Unit is making water drops on it. A crew is being shuttled into the fire area by a second helicopter.
The fire is located at T41S, R4E, Sec. 5.
The cause of the fire has not been determined as yet, but lightning from last week’s storms struck in the area.
July 10, 2015
Widespread thunderstorms swept across Jackson and Josephine counties’ forestlands Thursday afternoon and evening. ODF’s Southwest Oregon District engine crews found 10 fires on Bureau of Land Management and private lands. Two of the fires are 1/4 acre in size and the rest are smaller.
- 1/4-acre Board Tree Fire, 5 miles east of Wolf Creek
- 1/4-acre Curr Creek Fire, 7 miles northeast of Butte Falls
- 1/10-acre Sardine Creek Fire, 4 miles northwest of Gold Hill
- 1/10-acre Willy Rock Fire, 3 miles north of Trail
- 1/100-acre East Jones Creek Fire, 1 mile north of Grants Pass
- 1/100-acre Woodcock Fire, 3 miles south of Cave Junction
- 1/100-acre Bear Branch Fire, 5 miles north of Rogue River
- 1/100-acre Sykes Creek Fire, 3 miles north of Wimer
- 1/100-acre Taggerts Creek Fire, 3 miles east of Stewart State Park
- 1/100-acre May Creek Fire, 4 miles northeast of Wimer
A reconnaissance flight is looking over southwest Oregon’s forestlands this morning, watching for smoke.
June 30, 2015
For Immediate Release Contact: Ashley Lara 541-831-2778
Date: June 30, 2015
Target Shooting Sparks Fire on Kershaw Road
At 4:45p.m. dispatch received a report of smoke at the White City Shooting Range on Kershaw Road. Jackson County Fire District 3, the Oregon Department of Forestry and Jackson County Sheriff’s Department arrived on scene to find a .10 acre fire moving up slope with high winds.
This is the fourth fire that has been reported in the area in the last month. The most recent being just a day before the Kershaw Road Fire started. Resources including, 5 Jackson County Fire District 3 engines, 1-20 person Jackson County Community Justice Crew, 7 Oregon Department of Forestry engines, 2-10 person handcrews, 1 tender, 1 dozer and a Type 1 and Type 2 helicopter. Crew moved quickly to form a wet line (a temporary control line using water to prevent fire from spreading) around the perimeter. The helicopters dipped out of a nearby pond, rotating bucked drops on the hot spots.
Within two hours, the fire was 100% contained with dozer line around the perimeter. Crews worked overnight to mop-up the area. Jesse Blair, Fire Investigator for the Oregon Department of Forestry stated, “The fire has been deemed shooting related, and it moved quickly due to high temperatures and low humidity”. Though this fire was not started due to tracer ammunition, it is also important to state that according to ORS. 477.510 and ORS 477.512, the discharge of tracer ammunition on land that is within the district or within one-eighth mile of the district, or when discharged, crosses above land that is within the district or within one-eighth mile of the district are prohibited during fire season.
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Ashley Lara
Fire & Life Safety Specialist
Jackson County Fire District 3
8383 Agate Rd
White City, OR 97503
(541) 831-2778
June 27, 2015
Abundant lightning strikes Friday evening over the High Cascades Ranger District of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest resulted in four new fire starts. The Bessie Fire is currently estimated at 10-20 acres and is being attacked with air tankers, helicopters and hand crews. All other fires are currently reported at one acre or less in size. A variety of different firefighting resources, including engines, hand crews, smokejumpers, rapellers and helicopters are either on site or en route to each of the fires.
No lightning-caused fires have been found on forestlands protected by the Oregon Dept. of Forestry.
Fire lookouts and aerial reconnaissance flights will continue to look for any additional smokes.
A Red Flag Warning for lightning and dry fuels remains in effect throughout the region into Sunday.
Fire managers are encouraging the public to be extremely fire aware over the course of the weekend. Unattended campfires, careless disposal of smoking materials and the use of any spark emitting apparatus could result in a rapidly growing wildfire.
“We need the public’s help to limit human caused fires given the potential for many starts due to lightning over the next few days,” reminds Eric Hensel, Fire Staff Officer for the Rogue River-Siskiyou NF. “Both the National Forest and State protected lands have fire restrictions in place for good reason. I encourage the public to become familiar with and abide by them for their own safety, the safety of our firefighters and the protection of our natural resources.”
Information about current fire restrictions can be found at: www.fs.usda.gov/rogue-siskiyou.
