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ODF: Salt Creek Fire 73% contained, crews respond to lightning-caused fires

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A helicopter flies over area burned by the Salt Creek Fire

EAGLE POINT, Ore. – The Salt Creek Fire continues to gain containment as firefighters push forward on mopping up; it’s now 100% lined and 73% contained. Due to this progress, Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) Incident Management Team 1 is beginning the process of transitioning the fire back to the local districts to continue working on the incident. During this time, resources will begin to demobilize, allowing some of those personnel and equipment to be reassigned to other fires burning across the region.

With this transition, 961 personnel are assigned to the fire for Tuesday’s day and night shifts, including 37 crews, 28 engines, seven bulldozers and 17 water tenders. Aircraft include four Type 1, one Type 2 and two Type 3 helicopters, and additional aircraft will be ordered if necessary.

These resources will continue to mop up into the interior of the fire and get as much of the fire contained as possible before turning it back over to the local districts.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Management have canceled two of the Level 1, “BE READY,” evacuation notices for zones JAC-19 and JAC-21. The rest remain in effect at this time. Learn more about evacuations at: https://protect.genasys.com/

BLM Medford District has temporarily closed BLM-managed lands in the area for safety. For more info go to: https://www.blm.gov/orwafire

The current fire danger level is extreme; follow all fire restrictions to help prevent fires. Learn more at:

 

The Salt Creek Fire is located 10 miles east of Eagle Point and was first reported Sunday, July 7, just after 4 p.m. The cause is under investigation.

FIRE AT A GLANCE
Estimated Size: 4,102 acres
Containment: 73%
Cause: Under Investigation
Estimated Cost: $11.8 million
Evacuations
Evacuation Level 1: BE READY for Zones JAC-316, JAC-317 and JAC-325-A.
Road Closures
Salt Creek Road and Wasson Canyon Road remain closed at Highway 140, and Double Day Road is closed off of Butte Falls Highway. Highway 140 and Butte Falls Highway remain open.
All Resources
Total Personnel: 961
Hand Crews: 37
Engines: 28
Water Tenders: 17
Dozers: 7
Helicopters: 7
Large Airtankers & Single Engine Airtankers are available upon request.
Incident Commander:
Joe Hessel Oregon Department of Forestry
Incident Management Team 1

Firefighters also worked overnight on two small fires southeast of Buncom that were the result of lightning strikes from Monday night’s storm. Both are lined and in various stages of mop up.

The largest, the Waters Gulch Fire, was caught at two acres and was 100% lined and 40% mopped up this morning. While the fire is small, it’s situated on a steep slope and required firefighters to hike over a mile uphill to access it. This location and terrain has been a challenge, but firefighters continue to make good progress.

The other fire was reported near the same area; the Lick Gulch Fire was caught and extinguished at 1/10 of an acre.

Numerous reports of fire were called in across both southern Jackson and Josephine counties, however the remainder were found to be water dogs, or water that’s evaporating in the heat that can appear as smoke.

Today, we’re flying recon missions to search for new potential fire starts and our detection center is scanning the areas that received lightning. The rain that came through with the thunderstorms helped to minimize fire starts, but as things dry out and get hot today, new fires could ignite from strike areas. Any new fires will be posted.

Help firefighters prevent new human-caused fires by following all local fire regulations found here: https://swofire.com/public-fire-restrictions/

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