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

Fire Prevention Regulations Increase for Industrial Operations Tomorrow

Increased fire danger on forestlands protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Southwest Oregon District has made it necessary to increase the fire prevention measures on industrial operations, such as logging sites and other commercial operations.
The industrial fire restrictions are separate from the general public. For the public, the “high” (yellow) fire danger level remains in place which was put into effect on June 30.
Industrial Fire Precaution Level II (two) takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, July 12. This is considered a limited shutdown which includes the following restrictions:
• The use of fire in any form will be prohibited.
• The use of power saws will be prohibited, except at loading sites, between 1:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
• The use of a feller-buncher with rotary head saws will be prohibited between 1:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
• The use of cable yarders will be prohibited between 1:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
• Blasting will be prohibited between 1:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
• Welding, grinding or cutting of metal will be prohibited between 1:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Additionally, commercial operators on forestlands are required to have fire suppression equipment on site and provide watchman service.
These regulations affect all state, county, private and Bureau of Land Management lands in Jackson and Josephine counties. The regulated use zones affected by this proclamation include SW-1, SW-2, SW-3, SW-4, SK-3, RR-1, RR-2 and RR-3, and all forestland within one-eighth of a mile of these zones.
For more information about the Oregon Department of Forestry’s fire season public and industrial restrictions, 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

Fire Danger Level Increases to High Today

The fire danger level on Oregon Department of Forestry-protected lands in Jackson and Josephine counties will increase to “high” (yellow) today, effective immediately. The Industrial Fire Precaution Level will remain at level 1 (one).
These regulations affect 1.8 million acres of state, private, county, city and Bureau of Land Management lands protected by ODF’s Southwest Oregon District.
Restrictions on the public use of chain saws, brush cutters and other power-driven or spark-emitting machinery will be the biggest change, allowing the use of equipment until 10:00 a.m. and after 8 p.m.
The following fire prevention regulations that will remain in effect today, until further notice, are the following:
·         No debris burning, including piles and debris burned in burn barrels;
·         No fireworks on forestlands;
·         Exploding targets and tracer ammunition, or any bullet with a pyrotechnic charge in its base, are prohibited.
·         Smoking while traveling will only be allowed in enclosed vehicles on improved roads, in boats on the water and other specifically designated locations;
·         Open fires are prohibited which includes campfires, charcoal fires, cooking fires and warming fires, except at locations deemed a designated campground. Portable cooking stoves using liquefied or bottled fuels are still allowed;
·         Chain saws may not be used between 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. during high fire danger. During hours outside of this time frame, chain saws may be used but require that the operator have one shovel and one 8-oz or larger fire extinguisher at the work site. A fire watch is also required for one hour after each chainsaw use;
·         Cutting, grinding and welding of metal is not allowed between 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. during high fire danger.These activities will be allowed during hours outside of this time frame only if the work site is cleared of potentially flammable vegetation and other materials, and a water supply is at the j
ob site;
·         The mowing of dead or dried grass with power-driven equipment is not allowed between 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. during high fire danger. This restriction does not include mowing of green lawns, or equipment used for the commercial culture and harvest of agricultural crops;
·         Motorized vehicles, including motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles, will be allowed only on improved roads free of flammable vegetation. One shovel and one gallon of water, or one 2.5 pound or larger fire extinguisher, is required while traveling.
·         Any other spark-emitting internal combustion engine use not specifically mentioned is not allowed between 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. during high fire danger. Use of any spark-emitting internal combustion engine is allowed outside of this time frame only if the work site is cleared of potentially flammable vegetation and other materials, and a water supply is at the job site;
·         Any electric fence controllers must be approved by a nationally recognized testing laboratory, such as Underwriters Laboratories Inc., or be certified by the Department of Consumer and Business Services, and be installed and used in compliance with the fence controller’s instructions for fire safe operation.

For more information about the Oregon Department of Forestry’s fire season public restrictions, 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

Fire season information is also available online at our Facebook page: @ODFSouthwest and our website: www.swofire.com.

Firefighters Stomp Out 16 Lightning Fires on the District: Recon Mission Underway

Firefighters halted the spread of 16 lightning-caused fires on ODF-protected lands over the last 16 hours. Yesterday’s storm kept the ODF Southwest Oregon District and local fire agencies engaged as roughly 1,500 down strikes hit Jackson and Josephine Counties.
All lightning-related fires on the district were kept small; the largest being the Little Battle Mountain Fire which was just confirmed to be one acre. Originally, several of the fires were estimated to be a bit larger when discovered last night. However, now that all fires are contained and crews have had the chance to obtain an accurate GPS, several fires have “shrunk” in size.
“The initial size-up is usually different then the final #fire size. That’s due to a lot of things like time of day, amount of smoke, wind and even the slope. But at the end of the day, the fire size isn’t the most important factor, but how quickly and efficiently we can get the fire out in order to keep firefighters safe and free up additional resources,” said Dave Larson, District Forester.
Today, the district’s priority is to spot new fire starts. We will have a recon aircraft up throughout the entirety of the day searching both counties for smokes. However, lightning fires are tricky in that it can take days, even weeks for a smoke to pop up.
Therefore, this is only the starting point for our recon mission.
We would like to remind everyone that the fire danger level on Oregon Department of Forestry protected lands in Jackson and Josephine counties will remain at “moderate” (blue) for the time being. This means that our shut down time for several power-driven tools is from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. For a full list of the public restrictions currently in place, visit our Facebook page: @ODFSouthwest or 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
(Photo: Little Battle Mountain Fire, June 25, 2017)
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