Oak Flat Fire Burnouts Go As Planned

Yesterday, firefighters successfully burned out unburned fuel between the Oak Flat Fire’s edge and containment lines west of Sam Brown Campground and in the northwest corner along Chrome Ridge. All burning remained well within established control lines, and generated smoke columns visible from many parts of the Rogue and Illinois Valleys.

Today’s weather forecast calls for higher temperatures and lower humidity earlier in the day. This will allow burning in areas that were still too damp Thursday from recent cool, rainy weather. These tactics will help to prevent the fire’s spread eastward toward high value recreation areas and private lands. Smoke will again be prominent over surrounding areas.

Four heavy-lift helicopters will be used today to drop water on hotspots to check the fire’s spread to the north. By Sunday a cooling trend will begin, bringing higher humidity and lower temperatures through the following week. This weather will allow firefighters to reduce the amount of burning out required, and hold the fire in check on its northern perimeter.

Sam Brown Campground, the 2500 road (Taylor Creek Road), and the 2402 road remain closed to all but fire traffic.

Fire Restrictions Remain in Effect Throughout SW Oregon

With the coming Labor Day weekend, fire managers in southwest Oregon want to remind all citizens that fire danger remains high to extreme and fire restrictions remain in effect across the region. Even though cooler, moist weather recently visited the region, the warming and drying weather this week will once again create highly combustible conditions on Oregon Department of Forestry-protected lands in Jackson and Josephine counties and the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest.

Restrictions on ODF-protected lands include:

• Open burning is not allowed until fire season ends. This includes piles of debris and burn barrels.
• Campfires are allowed only in designated campgrounds.
• Smoking in forestland areas is allowed only in an enclosed vehicle on an improved road.
• Vehicles are not allowed on unimproved roads.
• No open fires of any kind are allowed in the Wild and Scenic section of the Rogue River.

Restrictions on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest include:

• Fires, Smoking, and internal combustion engines - Siskiyou Mountains and Wild Rivers Ranger Districts
• Lower Wild Section of National Wild and Scenic Rogue River
• Illinois River Road - Fires only in Forest Service fire rings, and no unattended vehicles inside road white lines.
• No Camping or Campfires in the Ashland Watershed

For a complete rundown on fire season restrictions, see the ODF Southwest Oregon District fire protection and the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest web pages.

Burnout Operations Continue on Oak Flat Fire

Because of the short period of dry weather in which to conduct firing operations, firefighters have scaled back plans to burn out the upper Briggs Creek basin. With the rapid warming and drying expected today, firefighters expect to begin firing operations early. The burnout operations will focus on tying the fire into containment lines protecting private land near Sam Brown Campground on the east, and a small area in the northwest, near Chrome Ridge. By late Saturday a cooling trend is expected to bringing higher humidity and lower temperatures through the following week.

If holding the fire at its current northerly spread is successful, the required burnout could be significantly reduced. This would reduce the eventual size of the fire by approximately 2,000 acres, and significantly reduce the suppression workload.

Water drops from heavy lift helicopters will be utilized to help check the fire’s northern spread because of the steep and inaccessible terrain that doesn’t allow firefighters direct access.

Sam Brown Campground, the 2500 road (Taylor Creek Road), and the 2402 road remain closed to all but fire traffic.

For additional information, please see InciWeb.

Wildfire Safety Meeting at Green Springs Inn

The Green Springs Inn is hosting an “are you prepared?” wildfire safety meeting on September 1 for the Green Springs area and surrounding residents.

The Green Springs Inn is located at 11470 Hwy 66. The meeting is open to all residents and begins at 6 p.m. Children are welcome at this family event and refreshments are available.

Representatives from the Oregon Department of Forestry, Bureau of Land Management, Greensprings Fire and Rescue, Oregon State University Extension and Jackson County will be available for discussion and questions about this year’s fire season and how residents can stay prepared. Discussions such as Firewise practices for homeowners, creating defensible space, noxious weed management, animal evacuation and the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument fire plan will be among the topics discussed.

Oak Flat Fire Update

A substantial increase in fire behavior is anticipated over the next several days as the Oak Flat Fire area returns to typical early-September weather. The fire area received an average of one-tenth of an inch of rain over the last 24 hours, which slowed but did not stop the fire’s spread. This allowed firefighters time to strengthen containment lines to prepare for burning out operations designed to remove fuel between the fire’s edge and the firelines.

Strategic burnouts will commence as the weather warms and dries, probably late Wednesday and Thursday. Large columns of smoke will likely be visible from surrounding areas. The area to be burned is generally contained between Chrome Ridge, the 2510 Road, and Briggs Creek.

Firefighters continue to improve additional contingency lines north of the fire perimeter, as additional insurance if burning conditions return to the extremes seen last week.

The incident command post has moved to BLM’s Sprague Seed Orchard in Merlin. This brings the firefighters much closer to the active operations area, and reduces driving distances for the firefighters and make for a safer, more efficient operation.

Sam Brown Campground, the 2500 road (Taylor Creek Road), and the 2402 road remain closed to all but fire traffic.

For additional information, please see the fire's information page on InciWeb.

Cool Weather Dampens Oak Flat Fire

Recent cool, damp weather has slowed the fire’s spread, but will not put the fire out. In order to complete the suppression of the fire, firefighters will need to burn out unburned areas between the fire’s edge and the containment lines that have been prepared along existing roads and the firelines prepared to control previous wildfires. Burning out is expected to resume mid-week after several days of warmer, drier weather has sufficiently dried the forest fuels.

Firefighters continue to improve additional contingency lines north of the fire perimeter.

The incident command post has moved to BLM’s Sprague Seed Orchard in Merlin. This brings the firefighters much closer to the active operations area, and reduces driving distances for the firefighters and makes for a safer, more efficient operation.

Sam Brown Campground, the 2500 road (Taylor Creek Road), and the 2402 road remain closed to all but fire traffic.

For additional information, please see InciWeb.