Friday, September 1, 2017, 9:00 a.m.
Rattlesnake Fire – This fire is now part of the Umpqua North Complex. This 400-acre wildfire is located in the northeast portion of the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness near Fish Creek and Rattlesnake Mountain with some of the perimeter outside of the Wilderness boundary.
North Zone, Umpqua National Forest: A new Type 1 Incident Management Team, CA Team 4 (J.Kurth), assumed command at 7:00 a.m. today. Team 4 is working cooperatively with the Douglas Forest Protective Association (Thorpe) to manage the Umpqua North Complex on the North Umpqua and Diamond Lake ranger districts. For more information, check inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/
South Zone, Umpqua National Forest: A local 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/
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.” 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.
A Level 1 Evacuation Notice, “Get Ready” (fire danger exists in the area, be prepared) remains in place for the Susan Creek residential area, the BLM Susan Creek Campground, and Highway 138 East from Mile Marker 28 to the Forest Service/BLM boundary.
A Level 2 Evacuation Notice, “Get Set” (threat is greater, you must prepare to leave at a moment’s notice) is in place for the Slide Creek Area (Higway 138 from milepost 53 to milepost 56), Moore Hill Lane, Umpqua Last Resort, Dry Creek and Illahee areas.
There are no Level 3 Evacuation Orders “GO” (threat is imminent, evacuate immediately) at this time.
Weather: A warming and drying trend will continue today and into the weekend, with very dry and unstable conditions moving west to east across the forecast area today and into Saturday. These conditions will persist into early next week with one of the hottest air masses of this summer.
Today’s forecast calls for high temperatures from 95 to 100 with minimum humidity around 15% to 20%. Tonightwill be clear, but smoky. Minimum temperatures will be around 60 degrees with maximum humidity around 45% to 60%.
Air Quality: For up to date statewide air quality information, visit oregonsmoke.blogspot.com.
Diamond Lake, North Umpqua and Tiller Ranger District Closure Orders: Forest Order 378 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/
River Closure: A small portion of the North Umpqua River has been opened for angling. The north shore of the river is open from the falls at Steamboat Inn to the Jeannie Fishing Hole. 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: Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has closed Highway 138 (North Umpqua Highway) from mile marker 47 to mile marker 54. Highway 138 pullout closures are in effect from mile marker 31 to mile marker 35. Current road information for Highway 138 can be found on ODOT’s website athttps://tripcheck.com/Pages/
Campgrounds: Please refer to the Umpqua National Forest website for a comprehensive list of campground closures at https://www.fs.usda.gov/
For ideas of where to go, check out https://www.fs.usda.gov/
Campfires are permitted only in fire rings in designated campgrounds. A list of Public Use Restrictions is available at https://www.fs.usda.gov/
Industrial Fire Precaution Level restrictions (currently Level IV) protect the forest resource from unintentional fire starts due to unnoticed, accidental sparks or other heat sources associated with the use of machinery. In remote areas, unintentional small fires may quickly grow into major incidents. Recreational campfires in approved fire rings in approved locations do not present the same level of risk, and so they continue to be permitted.
Due to widespread wildfire activity and the potential for extreme fire behavior, visitors are encouraged to know what areas of the Forest closed and to find places to recreate outside of closure areas. A forest closure is in place for public safety.
