Steady progress on Kelsey Peak Fire overnight, thunderstorms prompt new fire starts in Jackson County

LOWER ROGUE RIVER CORRIDOR, Ore. (Sept. 7, 2025) – Firefighters worked through the night on the Kelsey Peak Fire, building on the steady progress made over the past couple of days. The fire, burning on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land along the Lower Rogue River Corridor roughly 26 miles northwest of Grants Pass, was mapped overnight at 685 acres and is 25% lined. With minimal overnight fire activity, firefighters focused on strengthening existing lines and prepping areas for new ones to be built with bulldozers and other resources today. More than 400 personnel are assigned to work the fire for Sunday’s dayshift, including 15 20-person crews, two 10-person crews, 16 engines, five bulldozers, seven water tenders, two sets of fallers and various pieces of logging equipment. Aircraft assigned to the fire remains three Type 1, three Type 2 and two Type 3 helicopters.

Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) Complex Incident Management Team (CIMT) 1 will be in-briefed by the current leadership this afternoon and begin to shadow their counterparts who have been engaged on the fire. The team will take command of the incident on Monday morning, relieving local resources to return to normal response readiness in the wake of new potential lightning fires.

Last night, thunderstorms moved into southern Oregon, leaving lightning strikes across the entire western portion of Jackson County, and a cluster in southeast Josephine County. Four fires were confirmed, and ODF firefighters were able to 100% line and mop up two of them, the Carnegie Fire stopped at a quarter-acre and the East Evans Creek Road Fire caught at 1/100 of an acre. The largest fire is 100% lined, caught at one acre overnight. Mop-up work began early Sunday morning on this incident. Finally, a single tree was reported on fire on Anderson Butte; firefighters couldn’t locate it overnight and are hiking in this morning. Firefighters will continue to be ready to respond to new lightning fires. ODF’s Detection Center staff will be scanning lightning strike areas for signs of fire and numerous reconnaissance missions are planned to scout these locations as well. Thunderstorms return to the forecast on Monday, with a predicted break today.

The fires along the Lower Rogue River Corridor were started by lightning during a thunderstorm last Wednesday; the following is a complete list of the fires that affected ODF-protected land:

The Josephine County Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Management placed Zone JCU-801, located mostly southeast of the fire, on a Level 1, BE READY evacuation notice. Additionally, BLM Grants Pass Field Office has temporarily closed a portion of the Grave Creek to Marial Backcountry Byway (BLM Road 32-9-14.2) and Sheriff John Ward of the Curry County Sheriff’s Office issued a Level 3, GO NOW, evacuation order for the area of Rogue River Ranch, Tucker Flat Campground and the nearby area of Marial. The public is strongly encouraged to avoid the entire Byway to facilitate safe firefighter access on the steep, narrow, windy road. Members of the public may not enter closed areas, and all uses—including hiking, hunting and dispersed camping—are prohibited. Please see the map for full closure information on the BLM website: https://www.blm.gov/programs/public-safety-and-fire/fire-and-aviation/regional-info/oregon-washington/fire-restrictions.

Additional fires burning downriver near the Paradise and Half Moon Bar Lodges are on ground protected by our partners at the U.S. Forest Service Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest and the Coos Forest Protective Association; please follow their pages for additional fire updates.

Help firefighters by following all current regulations during Extreme fire danger:

• ODF: https://swofire.com/public-fire-restrictions/
• BLM: https://www.blm.gov/programs/fire/fire-restrictions