Southwest Oregon Wildfire Information Center

South Obenchain Fire Update

October 3, 2020 - FINAL

Fire Information

Wildfire Information Center: (458) 206-3043 https://southwestoregonwildfireinformation.blogspot.com/

Jackson County Emergency Management: (541) 776-7338

Email: SouthObenchainFire@gmail.com

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

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

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

Transition Update: All resources assigned to the South Obenchain Fire will be under the direction of a Type 4 Incident Management Team from the local Medford BLM District starting 7 AM tomorrow (October 4, 2020). The focus for current and future resources assigned to the fire is to address post-fire damage holistically and provide stabilization to ensure public safety and prevent further degradation of the landscape.

*Note: Smoke and heat will likely remain within the fire’s perimeter and is a natural occurrence. While smoke from the area may be unnerving, the consumption of fuel within the perimeter is an important and typical event in fire ecology. Please only call 911 if a fire is seen outside of the perimeter. Contact the Wildland Fire Information Center (WIC) directly for future questions or information concerning this fire 458-206-3043.

Weather: High pressure will remain over the fire area through next week. The weather will stay warm and dry, with afternoon temperatures expected to be 5-10 degrees above normal with afternoon humidity’s in the 20% range. Winds will generally be light, with northwest breezes in the afternoon. Rainfall looks likely sometime Friday or Saturday with increasing chances of wetting rain amounts, but timing remains uncertain.

Resources: 205 total resources.

Evacuations: Evacuation orders for the South Obenchain Fire have been removed. Visit the Jackson County Emergency Management page: https://jacksoncountyor.org/emergency/News/News-Information for the most recent map of evacuation levels and updates.

Evacuee Resources: The evacuation shelter remains located at the Jackson County Expo Center, 1 Penninger Rd. in Central Point, Oregon where some services are available. Multi-Agency Resource Centers (MARC) are open in Medford with smaller satellite offices operating in Talent, and Phoenix. MARC locations are available from 8 am – 8 pm, seven days a week.

Medford: Central High School, located at 815 S. Oakdale Avenue (541) 842-3669
Talent: Talent Elementary School, located at 307 Wagner Creek Road (541) 535-1531
Phoenix: Phoenix Civic Center, located at 220 N. Main Street (541) 535-1955 ext. 303

Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR): The TFR remains in place for the safety of the firefighters and aircraft fighting the South Obenchain fire. Please consult the Notice to Airman for specifics.

Closures: Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has reduced the size of the public lands closure area related to the South Obenchain Fire. However, it is critical that the public understand that suppression and repair activities will continue for weeks. Public access in and around the fire continues to pose a safety concern for the community and firefighters. Updated maps of the closure areas are available on the BLM’s site: https://www.blm.gov/programs/public-safety-and-fire/fire-and-aviation/regional-info/oregonwashington/fire-restrictions

Lastly…

THANK YOU FROM NORTHEAST WASHINGTON INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM 2!

It has been an honor to serve your wonderful community, and we wish each one of you a safe recovery.