Current Situation: One new fire was confirmed Sunday afternoon about 1.5 miles east of Cinnamon Butte on the Diamond Lake Ranger District. The fire has been staffed and contained with minimal spread at 0.1 acre.
The Dry Creek Community and residents living in the Slide Creek area (residents living between mileposts 53-56 on Highway 138E) are now on a Level 1 pre-evacuation notice.
There will be an “open house” style public meeting on the evening of Monday, September 11th,at the Umpqua National Forest Supervisor’s Office in Roseburg. Agency representatives and local authorities will be on hand to answer questions about local fires. There will also be a slide show featuring the photography of wildland fire photographer, Kari Greer. The meeting will take place from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m.
Weather: Most hours and locations will be dry today. There is a slight chance of thunderstorms late this afternoon near Medicine Peak. The coverage area will then expand to include most of northern California, Cascades and portions of the eastside this evening and tonight. Conditions are still looking favorable for scattered thunderstorms Tuesday with the best chance for storms in northern California and east of the Cascades. Today’s forecast calls for high temperatures from 90 to 95 degrees with minimum humidity around 25% to 30%. Minimum temperatures will be around 55 to 65 degrees with maximum humidity around 55% to 75%.
North Zone, Umpqua National Forest: A Type 1 Incident Management Team, California Team 4 (J.Kurth) is managing the Umpqua North Complex on the North Umpqua and Diamond Lake ranger districts. For more information, check inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5505/ and follow the Umpqua National Forest on Facebook.
South Zone, Umpqua National Forest: A Type 3 Incident Management Team (Thompson) is managing the Falcon Complex on the Tiller Ranger District. For more information about these wildfires, checkinciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5484/ and follow Falcon Complex Wildland Fires on Facebook. Northwest Interagency Incident Management Team 7 (Knerr) is managing the Paradise, Windy Gap, and Pup fires (formerly grouped in the Falcon Complex) as part of the High Cascades Complex. Windy Gap Fire is now part of the Broken Lookout Fire. For more information on these fires, check inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5503/ or follow the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest on Facebook.
Evacuations/Closures: Douglas County uses a 3-level evacuation process, with levels 1-3 corresponding with preparedness levels of “(1) Ready, (2) Set, (3) Go.”
A Level 1 Evacuation Notice, “Get Ready” (fire danger exists in the area, be prepared) remains in place for the Clearwater/Toketee Village area.
The areas of Dry Creek, Illahee, and Slide Creek along Highway 138 East from Mile Marker 53 to 56 have been lowered to a Level 1 Evacuation Notice “Be Ready.” The Clearwater area along Hwy 138 E, from Mile Marker 56 to 61, remains at a Level 1 Evacuation Notice
To register your telephone for the Douglas County Citizen Emergency Notification System and receive notifications about emergencies near your home, workplace, children’s school, or other important places, log onto http://www.dcso.com/alerts/ or call 541-440-4464.
Closure Orders: Forest Order 379 restricts public access to trails, roads, and forest areas due to wildfire activity. To view the closure order and an accompanying map, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd557073.pdf. Forest Order 380 closes 1.5 miles of the Brice Creek Trail on the Cottage Grove Ranger District. https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/umpqua/alerts-notices
River Closure: The north bank of the North Umpqua River is open between Susan Creek and Forest Road 4714. The river itself is closed to boating or rafting. The remainder of the river from Soda Springs Dam to the Susan Creek Campground remains closed to all angling, rafting and other recreational use due to significant public safety risks.
Road Information: As of 7:00 p.m., Thursday, September 7, vehicles began piloting through the wildfire zone on Highway 138 East, between Mile Markers 47-51. Be aware that conditions could change at any time and could close the highway due to safety concerns. Current road information for Highway 138 can be found on ODOT’s website at https://tripcheck.com/Pages/RCMap.asp.
Campgrounds: There are numerous campground closures. Please refer to the Umpqua National Forest website for a comprehensive list of campground closures at https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/umpqua/alerts-notices. For ideas of where to go, check out https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/umpqua/news-events/?cid=FSEPRD556360.
Campfires are permitted only in fire rings in designated campgrounds. A list of Public Use Restrictions is available at https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd554660.pdf.
Due to widespread wildfire activity and the potential for extreme fire behavior, visitors are encouraged to know what areas of the Forest are closed so they can find places to recreate outside of closure areas. A forest closure is in place for public safety.
Air Quality: For air quality and smoke information, visit airnow.gov.
