Fire Season is Over

Fire season ends today on lands protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Southwest Oregon District. The season began June 19 and lasted 117 days.

The largest fire of the season was the 633-acre Deer Ridge Fire that broke out east of Medford on Sept. 21. Medford Unit crews responded to 120 fires that burned a total of 1,073 acres. Grants Pass Unit firefighters took action on 116 fires that burned 123 acres. The largest fire in the Grants Pass Unit was the 48-acre Lone Mountain Road Fire, which occurred Aug. 24 near O’Brien.

ODF’s Southwest Oregon District protects 1.8 million acres of state, private, county, city and Bureau of Land Management lands in Jackson and Josephine counties.

The fire danger level is “low” (green). No regulated use or industrial (IFPL) fire restrictions are in effect.

Woody debris pile and barrel burning is allowed on ODF-protected lands. However, open burning is regulated for air quality in all of Jackson County, and in the Rogue Basin Open Burn Control Area in Josephine County. Before starting a burn, call the open burning advisory number for your county:

• Jackson County, 776-7007
• Josephine County, 476-WOOD

Some cities do not allow open burning, and many rural fire protection districts require a burning permit. Call your local structural fire service provider before burning.

Information about fire season restrictions is available online at www.swofire.oregon.gov and at ODF Southwest Oregon District unit offices:

• Medford Unit, 5286 Table Rock Rd.; (541) 664-3328
• Grants Pass Unit, 5375 Monument Dr.; (541) 474-3152

Slash Burning Season Has Begun

Burning on public lands began this week as Bureau of Land Management fire managers started the prescribed burn program for this fall through the winter. The upcoming burns will take place through December as weather conditions and air quality permit.

The burning program goals are varied and include treating the fuels on the ground to reduce risk of insect and disease outbreaks, to create better wildlife habitat and to reduce fire hazards. The BLM follows all state regulations for smoke management and only initiate burns when weather conditions are appropriate for smoke ventilation.

Daily updates are available by calling (541) 618-2354 or (800) 267-3126. Please do not call 911 for burn information as it could interfere with emergency calls.

Many Fire Restrictions Lifted

A few days of chilly, wet weather has allowed the Oregon Department of Forestry to remove fire-prevention restrictions on power equipment use, off-road driving and other measures effective today. This action affects lands protected by ODF’s Southwest Oregon District in Jackson and Josephine counties.

The fire danger level remains "high" (yellow) and the Industrial Fire Precaution Level is I (one).

Here are the public regulated use restrictions now in place:

• Campfires are allowed only in designated campgrounds. Portable stoves using liquefied or bottled fuels are allowed in other locations.
• All debris burning, including debris burned in a burn barrel, is prohibited.
• Fireworks use on forestlands is prohibited.
  

Information about fire season restrictions on ODF-protected lands is available online at http://www.swofire.oregon.gov/, and at ODF Southwest Oregon District unit offices:

• Medford Unit, 5286 Table Rock Rd.; (541) 664-3328
• Grants Pass Unit, 5375 Monument Dr.; (541) 474-3152

Deer Ridge and Siskiyou Fires Contained Today

The Deer Ridge and Siskiyou fires will be declared contained as of 6:00 p.m. today, said Greg Alexander, incident commander of both fires and ODF’s Medford Unit forester. “There is still some smoke visible in both of these fires,” said Alexander, “but its deep in the interior. Good mop up by the crews over the last several days has made the firelines secure.”

District Forester Dan Thorpe added that smoke may occasionally be seen drifting from these fires, particularly through the weekend. “They likely won’t be declared ‘out’ until after a good rainstorm,” said Thorpe.

Today, more than 200 firefighters worked on the Deer Ridge and Siskiyou fires, which broke out Monday. The number of firefighters assigned to both fires will drop to 150 tomorrow.

Containment means the firelines have been fully completed, and hot spots have been extinguished at least 150 feet between the firelines and the fires’ interior. These measures should be sufficient to contain flare-ups within the fires’ interior, should they occur.

The cost of suppression so far on both fires is $1.7 million.

The causes of the fires are under investigation.

Containment Expected Tomorrow on Siskiyou and Deer Ridge Fires

The Oregon Department of Forestry’s Southwest District expects to declare both the Siskiyou and Deer Ridge fires fully contained by 6:00 p.m. Thursday. Work toward extinguishing hot spots on these fires is going very well, and the chance that either fire will cross firelines is significantly reduced.

Crews tonight will patrol both fires to watch for flare-ups.

The Siskiyou Fire is 190 acres – a change in size due to improved mapping – and the Deer Ridge Fire is 630 acres. More than 850 firefighters battled the blazes.

The causes of these fires are being investigated.

The Oregon State Fire Marshal Red Team was released today, and firefighters and engines from 30 western and central Oregon fire districts returned to their home units. The team was deployed to coordinate home protection during the fires, both of which broke out Monday within hours of each other.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski invoked the Oregon Conflagration Act that day to enable the use of out-of-area structural fire-fighting equipment and personnel.

Structural fire support was provided first, and longest, by structural fire protection districts in Jackson and Josephine counties, including Ashland Fire & Rescue, Jackson County Fire District #5, Medford Fire-Rescue, Illinois Valley Fire District, Jackson County Fire District #4, Lake Creek Fire District, Rural-Metro Fire Department, Applegate Fire District #9, Jackson County Fire District #3, Rogue River Fire District, Jacksonville Fire Department and Grants Pass Fire-Rescue.

The Southwest Oregon District had additional assistance for fighting these fires from the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Douglas and Coos forest protective associations, other Oregon Department of Forestry districts, local landowners and residents, and timber industry cooperators.

Help Wanted To Determine Cause Of Deer Ridge Fire

Members of the public who saw the start of the Deer Ridge Fire in east Medford are asked to contact the Oregon Department of Forestry. The fire started Monday, Sept. 21, 2:29 p.m., near the streets of Deer Ridge Drive and Vista Point.

The fire is being investigated by the Oregon Department of Forestry, Medford Fire-Rescue and the Medford Police Department.

Call (877) 888-7343, toll-free, to reach the Department of Forestry’s Fire Tips message line. Your information is confidential, so please leave your name, a phone number, whether you have photographs or video of the fire in its early stages, and a description of what you saw.

Siskiyou Fire Nearly Contained

The Siskiyou Fire is 85 percent contained as of this afternoon, and the Deer Ridge Fire is 45 percent contained. Both fires broke out Monday. The Siskiyou Fire burned 145 acres of grass, brush and forest in the south end of Ashland, and the Deer Ridge Fire burned 630 acres of brush and some forest east of Medford.

One home and three outbuildings were burned in the Siskiyou Fire, and none in the Deer Ridge Fire. Five hundred homes, businesses and other structures were threatened by the blazes.

More than 475 firefighters are assigned to the fires. The cost, so far, of suppressing the fires is approximately $820,000.

The cause of the fires remains under investigation.