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Smith River Complex North update for Monday, September 4, 2023

GRANTS PASS, Ore. – Today will be the start of a drying trend on the Smith River Complex North. Sunday’s showers may be the last precipitation for an extended period of time. Firefighters are using this period of rain and high fuel moistures to conduct critical work on the fire.

Work has been completed on preparation of the 445 Road for use as a line to stop fire spread to the north. This line ties from the contained portion of the fire by the 461 Road, to where three Hotshot crews are digging lines around a section of the fire that crossed the 4402 Road near the northwest “thumb” of the fire.

Sunday, weather restricted aerial operations most of the day. For the third day in a row, heavy rain, wind, and lightning caused a safety pause for some work on the fire lines. Firefighters needed to move from ridges and other exposed locations to safer places during the worst stormy periods

Personnel and equipment are starting contingency lines north along the 1107 Road toward the Kalmiopsis Wilderness. They are creating a defensible line in case fire pushes northwest. This work is being coordinated with resources from Smith River Complex South.

Firefighters continue to mop-up residual hot spots west of Hwy 199 south of Blue Creek and near Monkey Creek Ridge. Minimal smoke has been visible in this vicinity for several days. Fire personnel also completed work on fire lines east from Hwy 199 southeast to Little Sanger Peak.

Two large hazard trees were identified near Hwy 199 that were likely to reach the highway if they fell. Explosives were used to get these trees down on the ground safely without impacting Hwy 199.

Structural resources completed chipping and mastication operations yesterday. They are wrapping up work in the Illinois Valley and will continue to patrol the area.

Hwy 199 is open, with pilot cars escorting traffic through a one-lane section of the highway impacted by the Smith River Complex. Expect a 30-minute delay. For the latest information on road conditions, please see the Caltrans site and Oregon Department of Transportation's TripCheck site.

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.

Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest has implemented an area and road closure order for the Smith River Complex. There is a campfire ban in effect for forest lands. 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.