Rum Creek Fire closes Lower Rogue Canyon

Aug. 23—GALICE — A wildfire burning toward the Rogue River's Wild and Scenic Section has triggered a closure of all hiking and rafting forays into the popular waterway during one of the river's busiest seasons, pushing away hundreds of floaters and creating losses of more than $60,000 a day to local liveries.

The lightning-caused Rum Creek Fire was estimated Tuesday at 520 acres and burning downhill toward the Rogue, creating a public-safety hazard from potential falling trees and boulders that merited the closure, fire officials said Tuesday.

The fire was listed Tuesday at zero percent contained, with attacks largely from helicopter water drops because of the steep and remote terrain there, said Scott Owen, spokesman for the incident team managing the fire.

Logan Taylor, 25, a firefighter from Talent, was hit by a falling tree while fighting the blaze Thursday and died from his injuries at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center.

The river closure begins at Grave Creek, the main launch site for the 120 permit holders per day who may depart into the Lower Rogue Canyon. Half of those legal launchings are through commercial outfitters, and the other half are private parties who obtain permits through a lottery system.

The Bureau of Land Management, which co-manages the Lower Rogue Canyon with the U.S. Forest Service, said all the commercial permits were full at least through Saturday.

Most trips are four-day adventures, with commercial rates running anywhere from $1,000 to $1,600 or more, depending upon the outfitter and the type of boating adventure and amenities customers seek.

"It's definitely huge, and it really hurts," said Michael Hughes, an outfitter at the Grants Pass-based Northwest Rafting Co., whose customers were turned away Tuesday.

The closure comes at a peak period for vacationers headed to Southern Oregon to run the Wild Rogue, and their loss not only hurts local businesses but also hits an outfitter industry whose bottoms lines are built around these weeks.

"Every day lost is incredibly significant, not just for us rafting outfitters," Hughes said. "It spreads across to everybody in the community."

Among this week's private boaters, all the permits through Saturday were already reserved, except for 25 private permits unallocated for launch Thursday, BLM spokesman Kyle Sullivan said.

Boaters seeking their permits Tuesday morning at the government's visitor center at Rand were turned away empty-handed, Sullivan said.

The closure runs five miles from Grave Creek downstream to Russian Creek near the Tyee and Wildcat campsites. Sullivan said the closure area was chosen by fire bosses and implemented by the BLM, which manages those lands.

All launchings into the Rogue from Grave Creek are canceled until further notice.

No estimated date for reopening public access was available Tuesday. The blaze's fire-management team, however, estimated that the Rum Creek Fire would not be contained until Oct. 31.

"We hope we can get a handle on that fire and open it up pretty soon," Owen said.

The Lower Rogue Canyon is largely isolated from public access other than via the Rogue, the adjacent Rogue River Trail along the north bank and the Rainie Falls Trail on the south bank. Both trails also are closed.

Access below Russian Creek, including river access at Marial, remained open Tuesday.

Fire officials plan a virtual community briefing on the fire at 6 p.m. Tuesday on the Rum Creek Fire Facebook page at facebook.com/rumcreekfire2022.

The meeting will be prerecorded, but questions and comments posted on the page will be answered in real time, according to BLM.

The fire began amid a spate of lightning strikes Wednesday in the remote forest five miles northwest of Galice. Fueled by timber understory and dead trees and brush, winds are pushing flames toward the Rogue at China Creek near Rainie Falls.

Flames were expected to reach the river there Tuesday or Wednesday, Owen said.

Rainie Falls generally is impassable by raft or driftboat in late August. The vast majority of floaters paddle or use ropes to line their boats through a manmade rocky chute on the north side called the Fish Ladder.

Most floaters walk around Rainie Falls on the river's north side, which currently is away from flames.

On Tuesday, 139 people were assigned to the fire, with the majority of the attack via helicopter, Sullivan said. However, hand crews were looking at direct and indirect attacks from the ground Tuesday morning.

Direct attacks are assaults on flames while indirect attacks typically are aimed at finding places on the fire's perimeter to dig fire lines in hopes of stopping flames from advancing.

Mark Freeman covers the environment for the Mail Tribune. Reach him at 541-776-4470 or email him at mfreeman@mailtribune.com.