Firefighters Stop North River Road Fire at just over Three Acres
Firefighters halted the North River Road Fire at 3.2 acres just around noon today. The initial report came in just before 10:30 a.m. with an estimated size of 1/100th of an acre. Within minutes, the fire spread upslope behind two homes off the 3800 block of N. River Rd in Gold Hill. While the two homes were initially threatened by the fire, no homes were lost or damaged by this incident.
While N. River Rd was closed temporarily due to fire traffic, the road is back open at this time. However, there are still several crews on site investigating the cause of the fire and mopping up hot spots along the hillside. Please use caution when driving through this area today.
Both ground and air efforts played a vital role in the quick containment of this fire. Our three helicopters made a combined total of 52 bucket drops over the fire. Visitors at Valley of the Rogue State Park witnessed firsthand how swiftly our air attack takes action as the helicopters dipped out of the Rogue River. Tanker 60 also made two retardant drops to help suppress the fire. For video of our firefighting efforts in action, visit our Facebook page: @ODFSouthwest.
Crews from the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Southwest Oregon District, Rogue River Fire District, Applegate Valley Fire District, Jackson County Fire District 3, Illinois Valley Fire District, Rural Metro Fire Josephine County assisted in the suppression of this fire. A special thanks to Oregon State Parks for helping block the road for fire traffic. As always, we would like to thank our partners for the continued quick and efficient responses to wildfires throughout our region.
Firefighters faced a quick-moving grass fire that was being wind-driven uphill. The fire’s behavior as it traveled rapidly through dense, dry brush is telling of how quickly are fuels throughout southern Oregon are losing moisture. Please keep in mind that the fire danger level on Oregon Department of Forestry protected lands in Jackson and Josephine counties will remain at “high” (yellow) for the time being. This means that our shut down time for several power-driven tools is from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. For a full list of the public restrictions currently in place, check out our website: www.swofire.com.
For additional information about the Oregon Department of Forestry, please call or visit the Southwest Oregon District unit office nearest to you:
· Medford Unit, 5286 Table Rock Rd., Central Point. (541) 664-3328
· Grants Pass Unit, 5375 Monument Dr., Grants Pass. (541) 474-3152