JACKSON & JOSEPHINE COUNTIES, Ore. (August 5, 2021) – Despite strong winds, firefighters were able to hold fires lines on the two active fires on the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) Southwest Oregon District. Potential thunderstorms in the forecast didn’t materialize, and smoke in the valley cleared out slightly to allow for air operations.
The Round Top and Buck Rock Fires are still holding at 23 and 17 acres respectively. Crews on both fires were able to strengthen lines and push forward on mop-up operations. Overnight, resources assigned to these incidents will continue checking for hot spots.
Just after 3 p.m., a grassfire was reported along Interstate-5 on the northbound side near MP 47 outside of Rogue River. Resources from ODF Southwest, Rogue River Fire District #1, Grants Pass Fire Rescue, Rural Metro Fire and Evans Valley Fire District all responded, and through an aggressive initial attack, the fire was quickly extinguished; it was caught at a quarter-acre in size. ODF investigators on scene determined the fire was caused by a catalytic converter. At the points of origin, pieces of a catalytic converter were found. It is unlikely that the vehicle those pieces came from will be identified, however, if anyone driving in the area at the time of ignition has information, please contact the Grants Pass ODF office at (541) 474-3152.
Despite the activity on our district, ODF Southwest continued to provide resources to fires burning in southern Douglas County on Douglas Forest Protective Association (DFPA) protected land and the Umpqua National Forest. Information on these specific fires can be found on https://www.facebook.com/skylineridgecomplex/, https://www.facebook.com/2021-Devils-Knob-Complex-112079071131008, https://www.facebook.com/DouglasForestProtectiveAssociation and https://www.facebook.com/UmpquaNationalForest.
As fire activity has diminished from the thunderstorms over the weekend, updates will only be given once a day starting on Friday, unless conditions significantly change, and fire behavior increases. Additional information about fire season is also available online on our website, www.swofire.com, our Facebook page, @ODFSouthwest and our Twitter account, @swofire.