GRANTS PASS, Ore. (July 20, 2025)—Crews on the Board Shanty Fire, south of Grants Pass, continue mop-up operations along all sides of the fire as they work to cool the perimeter with water until heat is removed. Containment remains at 9% on the 469-acre fire.
Today, crews mopped up to 50-100 feet into the interior of the fire on the northeast flank, and 30-50 feet on the southern area, even up to 75-100 feet in several areas. Crews continue to improve control lines and add additional water supplies around the fire to bolster mop up.
“Mop up is 90% of wildland firefighting,” said ODF CIMT3 Incident Commander Tyler McCarty. “Our mission now is to ensure that this fire is dead out to keep it from reheating when the temperatures rise again this summer. It’s difficult. It’s arduous. And it’s absolutely imperative. Our firefighters are diligent and putting in the work.”
Along the next ridge south of the fire, bulldozers are nearly finished clearing a contingency line, as the extreme slopes continue to pose a hazard for burning rolling debris that may cross fire lines. Firefighters remain vigilant in assessing hazards and patrolling for spot fires in the area.
Aviation assets were used today to help extinguish hot spots within the fire and remain on station for initial attack. As a reminder, drone use near fires is both illegal and extremely dangerous to pilots working on incidents. If you fly, we can’t. All illegal drone use will be reported to law enforcement.
Due to the Board Shanty Fire south of Grants Pass, the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Management placed Zones JCU-436, JCU-437 and JCU-448-A under a Level 2 – Be Set to evacuate notice and a Level 1 – BE READY for JCU-448-B. Additionally, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Management have placed Zone JAC-068 under a Level 1 – Be Ready evacuation notice. For the latest updates on evacuations, visit: https://protect.genasys.com.
Resources from Oregon Department of Forestry’s (ODF) Southwest Oregon District, Grants Pass Fire, Rural Metro Fire, Rogue Valley fire agencies and ODF Complex Incident Management Team 3 (CIMT-3) responded to the Board Shanty Fire Thursday, July 17. ODF CIMT 3 took command of the fire on Friday, July 18. For more fire information, visit the district’s Facebook page, @ODFSouthwest or www.swofire.com.
ODF fire regulations: https://swofire.com/public-fire-restrictions/.
BLM fire regulations: https://www.blm.gov/programs/public-safety-and-fire/fire-and-aviation/regional-info/oregon-washington/fire-restrictions.