Firefighters halted the Little Applegate Fire at 9.5 acres around 1:30 p.m. today. The initial report came in just after 12:30 p.m. with an estimated size of one-acre. Within minutes, the fire began spreading and spotting upslope near two homes off the intersection of Upper Applegate and Little Applegate Roads near the Applegate. While the two homes were initially threatened by the fire, no homes were lost or damaged by this incident; however, an outbuilding has been deemed a total loss.
There are still several firefighters on site investigating the cause of the fire, as well as mopping up hot spots along the hillside. At this time, the fire is 100 percent lined and 40 percent mopped up. Please use caution when driving through this area for the remainder of the afternoon as fire traffic will still be present.
Crews from the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Southwest Oregon District, Applegate Valley Fire District, Jacksonville Fire, U.S. Forest Service Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, and the Rogue Valley 2 Strike Team assisted in the suppression of this fire. A special thanks to the Forest Service for lending their two Type 2 helicopters that were on-hand at the Miller Complex. As always, we would like to thank our partners for the continued quick and efficient responses to wildfires throughout our region. For video of our firefighting efforts in action, visit our Facebook page: @ODFSouthwest.
This is a great reminder; fire season is not over yet. Please know the fire restrictions in your area before recreating outdoors this weekend. For additional information about the Oregon Department of Forestry, please visit us at www.swofire.com or call/visit the Southwest Oregon District 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
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