Containment grows on Rum Creek Fire
Sep. 2—The Rum Creek Fire northwest of Grants Pass reached 16,940 acres as of Friday morning, but crews gained ground from 1% containment in recent days to 12% containment.
Firefighters have made a network of lines on all the fire's flanks, although not all the lines are connected. They've also made backup lines farther back from the fire in multiple areas. A containment percentage refers only to lines so secure fire managers don't believe flames will cross over.
The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for strong, gusty winds Friday that fire managers said will test the lines. Winds from the west and southwest could push the fire to the east and northeast toward scattered rural homes and Merlin.
The red flag warning for gusty wind, hot temperatures and dried out late summer fuels applies to most of Josephine and Jackson counties. Any new fire ignition could spread quickly.
Officials are urging everyone to be extremely cautious Friday, over the Labor Day weekend and beyond until fall rain lowers the danger.
The Rum Creek Fire was sparked by lightning Aug. 17, but historically most wildfires have been caused by people, fire managers said.
Friday at noon, Grants Pass had very unhealthy air quality and Medford, Talent and Ashland had air that was unhealthy for sensitive groups. The Shady Cove air quality monitor was not reporting data on the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality's air quality website.
According to a smoke outlook report issued Friday, the heaviest smoke will remain in the fire's vicinity, including Galice, Merlin, Glendale, Canyonville and Riddle. Moderate-to-heavy smoke was expected to continue in the Rogue Valley, Applegate Valley and Illinois Valley until a dry cold front moved in Friday.
The area will see some clearing Friday afternoon, Rum Creek Fire Air Resource Advisor Amber Ortega said in a Friday morning briefing.
"We are going to have a dry cold front come through, which will clean out the smoke, but it could send a visible smoke plume in the air visible from the I-5 corridor," she said.
Widespread clearing will bring much-needed relief to the area by Saturday. Smoke over the weekend will depend on how the fire reacts to the strong, gusty winds of the cold front, according to the written smoke outlook report.
Firefighters have been clearing and burning vegetation to deprive the Rum Creek Fire of fuel and strengthen defensive lines.
On the fire's southeast corner, they used a drone to drop ignition balls on a steep, unburned area near Ennis Riffle to reduce the chance of the fire spotting across the river and spreading south in the Indian Mary Park area and beyond.
The southwest edge between Mount Peavine and Bear Gulch was fired during overnight operations from Thursday into Friday. Fire personnel are working to extinguish heat near the edge of the burned area. Strategic firing continues north toward the Rogue River on the west side of the fire to secure that section, fire managers said Friday morning.
Structural firefighters from across Oregon continue to mop up hot spots near homes and buildings, and are patrolling areas along Galice Road watching for possible spot fires caused by wind-blown embers. They're continuing to assess structures and make plans in case the fire spreads to the east, fire managers said Friday morning.
Nearly 2,000 people are assigned to the fire, which is Oregon's top priority. One home and two other structures burned several days ago, and firefighter Logan Taylor of Talent was killed Aug. 18 during the initial attack on the fire.
As of Friday morning, a wide area around Galice and Rand remained under a "Level 3 — Go Now" evacuation order and all residents should have left the area. Many rural neighborhoods scattered between the fire and Merlin and Grants Pass remained under a "Level 2 — Be Set" to go at a moment's notice evacuation alert. Merlin remained under a "Level 1 — Be Ready" alert as of Friday morning.
For updates on evacuation zones, the latest mapping of the fire's footprint, information about emergency evacuation shelter and more, see facebook.com/josephinecountyEM.
For air quality updates, see oraqi.deq.state.or.us/home/map.
For general information about the Rum Creek Fire, including operations and acreage updates posted each morning, see inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8348/.
To sign up for Citizen Alert evacuation alerts via phone, text or email, visit rvem.org.
Reach Mail Tribune reporter Vickie Aldous at 541-776-4486 or valdous@rosebudmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @VickieAldous.
