Slater and Devil Fires Update, Friday, September 25, 2020

Slater and Devil Fires Update

Friday, September 25, 2020, 7:30 a.m.

Fire origin: September 8, 2020
South Zone Slater/Devil Fire Info (530) 324-2528; 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
North Zone Slater Fire Info (503) 867-8593; 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
General Fire Info - Wildland Info Center: (458) 206-3043; 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. Media Information: (541) 249-5117; 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
North Zone Email: Slaterfirenorth.information@gmail.com
South Zone Email: 2020.Slater@firenet.gov
Website: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7173/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SlaterAndDevilFireInformation

Summary

Fire behavior analysts hiked several portions of the fire today and used drone flights to evaluate current fire behavior. With the recent precipitation, fire behavior decreased, and many areas are only showing a few smokes. Efforts will focus on mopping up, improving existing line and constructing line along the east and west flanks of the fire. Burnout operations were put on hold to allow damp fuels an extra day to dry out. Four additional crews, including the Rogue River Hotshots, and 15 engines will arrive on the fire tomorrow.

Slater Fire

North Zone: Firefighters continue to make progress on the north side of the fire from Highway 199 near Goodwish Creek Road to Browntown and many areas are moving into patrol status. Engines with the structure task forces will continue to work in and around the communities, monitoring impacted residences and ensuring there are no concerns.

Crews are building containment line along the southwest side of the fire from Knopki Creek to Sanger Lake. As weather conditions allow, crews will burnout to remove flammable material near the line. Line building continues along existing trails from the southeast corner of the Oregon Caves Monument toward the Sucker Creek area. Scouts are working to identify line location for the eastern side of the fire, and the best method to tie in the lines from the Monument to the line being built up from Thompson Creek.

Firefighters are focusing on two challenging locations: Monkey Ridge Road and the Lower Eight Gulch area southeast of Browntown. Both locations had several spotfires during Wednesday’s wind event. Firefighters were able to contain the spots and are continuing to construct line in preparation for small burnout operations to clean up unburned fuel.

South Zone: Mop up continues the community of Happy Camp. Crews will continue with line construction north of Thompson Creek. When conditions allow, crews will complete burnout operations to remove unburned fuel between indirect containment lines and the main fire.

Devil Fire

The Devil Fire received no precipitation yesterday; however, relative humidity was high enough to cause a decrease in fire behavior. Firefighters are holding the fire south of the 1040 road and continuing to build containment line on the southwest side of the fire along Fort Goff Road.

Weather: A second, weaker cold front is expected to move across the fire today, bringing a small amount of rain and keeping temperatures cool. Winds in the short term are expected to remain light with gusts to 25 mph over the ridges. Relative humidity is predicted to be 100 percent in the morning and decreasing to about 50 percent throughout the day. On Saturday, a high-pressure ridge will start to build, bringing warmer days and lower humidity. The ridge will continue through the week, with Tuesday possibly bringing record high temperatures.

Evacuations

Josephine County Sheriff’s Office is lifting the evacuation status for all residents located on the following road systems including secondary roads: Hwy 199 from mileposts 25 to 34 including connecting county roads, the City of Cave Junction, Rockydale Road from US Hwy 199 to Pinecone Drive, Caves Highway from Cave Junction to the west end of Holland Loop Road. The Sheriff is also downgrading the evacuation level from a Level 2 “Be Set” to a Level 1 “Be Ready” for all residents living on the north side of Caves Highway from the west end of Holland Loop Road to Grayback Road are included in this downgrade. In addition, the evacuation level was downgraded from Level 3 “Go” to Level 2 “Be Set for residents located along US Highway 199 from milepost 37 to the Oregon State line. This includes Elk Creek Road and Dwight Creek Road; Takilma Road from 7000 block to 10000 block Takilma Road, including connecting county roads in that area; and Happy Camp Road including connecting county roads to milepost 3.

All other evacuation levels remain the same. For more information, visit the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office website. Evacuation information is available at 541-474-5305 (9 a.m. – 6 p.m.) or: www.facebook.com/josephinecountyEM,www.co.josephine.or.us/fire, or www.rvem.org.

Siskiyou County evacuation information is available at (530) 841-2900 or online at: www.facebook.com/SiskiyouCountySheriff/

Del Norte County evacuation information is available at (707) 464-7213 or online at:www.facebook.com/DelNorteOfficeOfEmergencyServices and www.preparedelnorte.com/

The small amount of precipitation has not significantly reduced the fire danger. All fuels remain at critically dry levels. Patrols are still finding illegal abandoned campfires. All recreation visitors are reminded campfires are illegal at this time.

Closures: The USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region has extended the Regional Order temporarily closing nine national forests in California, including the Six Rivers and Klamath National Forests. This decision will continue to be reviewed daily with changing fire and weather. The entire region is also under emergency fire restrictions.

Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest has temporarily closed the Wild Rivers Range District and Siskiyou Mountains Ranger District. Find closure orders and maps at https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/rogue-siskiyou/alerts-notices

The Bureau of Land Management Medford District has rescinded public lands closure notices across much of the District. Public lands closures remain in effect near the Slater Fire and the South Obenchain Fire. Maps of the closure areas are available on the Bureau of Land Management's website: www.blm.gov/programs/public-safety-and-fire/fire-and- aviation/regional-info/oregon-washington/fire-restrictions

Printable PDF of today's update can be found here

Vocabulary word of the Day: Patrol Status