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Smith River Complex North update for Sunday, September 3, 2023

GRANTS PASS, Ore. – O’Brien residents who live south of Hwy 199 milepost 38 are home again after Josephine County Sheriff Dave Daniel reduced the area to a Level 2 – GET SET on Saturday. The Level 2 now includes O’Brien, the Takilma area, and the Hwy 199 corridor into California. A Level 1 – GET READY evacuation remains in place north to Cave Junction.

Fire resources have been working steadily to construct, improve, tactically fire, then mop up several miles of containment lines to make this reduction in evacuation level possible. The edge of the fire from the Blue Creek drainage southwest of Gilligan Peak north to the 461 Road then west along the 461 Road has been declared “contained.” This means fire managers are confident the lines are secure, and fire will not cross them.

Yesterday, helicopters dropped water on the northwest edge of the fire where rain did not penetrate the forest canopy and the fire continued to burn actively. Hotshot crews continue constructing fire lines in this area, part of an effort to stop fire growth to the north.

After rain Friday and scattered showers Saturday, fuels in many areas were too wet to burn well. While conditions are favorable for gaining more containment of the fire, resources are concentrating on fire line construction and improvement, and mop-up of residual heat. A drying trend is expected over the next week, however, and fire activity is expected to increase again.

Oregon State Fire Marshal (OSFM) resources demobilized and have returned to their home agencies. Task forces from Benton, Klamath, Lane, Marion, and Polk Counties responded to the Smith River Complex North. These crews assessed, prepped, and provided protection to more than 700 homes and 1,800 outbuildings, improving the fire resiliency of more than 2,500 structures within the Illinois Valley.

Pre-positioned water tanks, portable pumps, handlines, stand-alone sprinkler systems and other equipment remain in place to provide an additional layer of protection to homes near fire perimeters, should they become necessary. Firefighters assigned to the Smith River Complex North continue working with local resources to protect structures near the fire line.

Monitor Rogue Valley Emergency Management site and sign up for evacuation alerts and updates at https://rvem.org. An interactive Fire First Response Map showing evacuation areas can also be found there.

Hwy 199 is open, with pilot cars escorting traffic through a one-lane section of the highway impacted by the Smith River Complex. For the latest information on road conditions, please see the Caltrans site and Oregon Department of Transportation's TripCheck site

Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest has implemented an area and road closure order for the Smith River Complex. Visit the forest website for additional information at https://bit.ly/RRSNFAlerts. The Bureau of Land Management Coos Bay District announced an emergency closure of public lands near the Oregon/California border. For additional information see https://www.blm.gov/orwafire.