GRANTS PASS, Ore. (July 19, 2025)—Last night’s cooler temperatures allowed crews working on the Board Shanty Fire, south of Grants Pass, to hold control lines and finish installing hose lays around the full perimeter, recently mapped with infrared at 469 acres. Containment this morning sits at 9%.
Today, firefighters will continue mop-up on all flanks of the fire. Mopping up is the arduous process of digging around the burnt edge of fire lines and cooling the area with water until all heat is removed.
Last night, crews mopped up to 30 feet into the interior of the fire on the northeast flank, and nearly 50 feet from the northwest to southwest portion of the fire. Water has been plumbed on the southern edge, inside the north bank of Shanty Creek, allowing mop up to begin there.
“It was important to us to keep the fire from the community’s emergency response radio tower near the top of the ridge and firefighters made sure that happened. It was a great save to allow emergency communications to continue uninterrupted for the local communities,” said ODF CIMT3 Deputy Incident Commander Eric Perkins.
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 resources will continue with water drops today to cool hot spots, allowing ground crews to mop up around the fire perimeter. 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.