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Monday, September 21, 2020

South Obenchain Fire Update, September 21, 2020

South Obenchain Fire Update


Northwest Incident Management Team 8, Incident Commander, Doug Johnson

September 21, 2020

Fire updates will be provided once daily 

The life and safety of the public and all wildland fire responders is always the number one priority for all fire agencies. To keep firefighters and communities healthy and safe, all firefighters are asked to follow recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reduce the spread of illness. This also includes limited entry into the incident command post and base camp. 

EXTREME fire danger still exists in the Rogue Valley. All fuels remain at critically dry levels. An innocent spark could escalate out of control.  Please do your part to prevent wildfires. One less spark, one less wildfire. 

Fire Information:

Wildfire Information Center: (458) 206-3043

Jackson County Emergency Management: (541) 776-7338

E-mail:  SouthObenchainFire@gmail.com

Wildfire Information Center:  https://southwestoregonwildfireinformation.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SouthObenchainFire

Inciweb:  https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7185

Air Quality: http://oregonsmoke.blogspot.com/

Acreage: 32,671 

Containment: 65%

Cause: Under investigation

Current situation

Visible flames and smoke will persist within the fire perimeter until a season-ending rain or snow event. Only call 911 if flames are actively spreading and life or property are threatened. Please provide a specific address or location for firefighters to respond.  

All perimeters around the South Obenchain Fire are in mop-up and/or patrol status. Resources are steadily making progress mopping up into the interior up to 300 ft. to secure all containment lines.  The entire west perimeter is now in patrol status.  The repair group is making good progress cleaning up dozer lines, repairing fencing, waterbarring and completing other suppression repairs. Reconnaissance flights are occurring twice a day scouting for visible smokes from above.  Resources determined as excess to operational needs are demobilized to return home for a well-deserved rest or reassigned to assist with other incidents. 

Evacuations: Areas inside the immediate burn area remain at Level 3 with restricted entry and areas outside the immediate burn area have been reduced to Level 2.  Please view the following web pages for the most current evacuation maps: 

Jackson County Emergency Management-

https://jacksoncountyor.org/emergency/News/News-Information/jackson-county-evacuations-north-county-update-obenchain-fire-1

~ ~ ~ more ~ ~ ~ 

Jackson County Sheriff’s Office

https://jacksoncountyor.org/sheriff

Shelter Location: The evacuation shelter remains located at the Jackson County Expo Center, 1 Penninger Rd. in Central Point, Oregon where care and services are available such as food, medical care, bathrooms and showers.  

Weather: Today will bring a few more clouds by afternoon which will cool temperatures and raise the relative humidity. Temperatures will be 75-80 degrees with a relative humidity of 23-30%.  Winds will be southwest 5 mph turning west to 7 mph with gusts of 12 mph.

Resources-897: 1-type 1 hand crew, 1-type 2 initial attack crew, 27-type 2 crews, 1- light helicopter, 2-medium helicopters, 43-engines, 15-dozers, 24-water tenders and 6-skidgens. 

Temporary Flight Restrictions: For the safety of the firefighters and aircraft fighting the South Obenchain fire, a temporary flight restriction has been placed over the fire area. Please consult the Notice to Airman for specifics. 

Closure: The Bureau of Land Management Medford District has temporarily closed many areas of public lands to support fire suppression efforts and to prevent new starts. Maps of the closure areas are available on the Bureau of Land Management’s website: http://www.blm.gov/programs/public-safety-and-fire/fire-and-aviation/regional-info/oregon-washington/fire-restrictions





Printable version of Today's Update can be found here
Printable version of Today's Update can be found here 

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