Oregon Department of Forestry Complex Incident Management Team 3 is in command of a group of lightning fires known as the Grizzly Complex that started July 7th.
Monday crews were seeking out and cooling hot spots identified overnight from an infrared flight. Fires showed minimal fire activity along incident perimeters, allowing crews to focus on hazard tree removal and mopping up.
Many of the fires have a large number of dead trees, known as hazard trees or snags, that require extra mitigation to reduce safety risks. Crews completed hazard tree removal along roads within the Neil Creek Road and Jim Me Peak fires, allowing easier access for water tenders.
Jackson County Sheriff’s Office reduced the Level 2 – Be Set evacuation notices for zones JAC-542, JAC-543, JAC-546, JAC-558 and JAC-559 to a Level 1 – Be Ready notice. Zone JAC-536 remains at a Level 1. One lane of Interstate 5 is closed to protect firefighters between mile markers 8.5 and 10.5 on southbound lanes only. Check tripcheck.com for up-to-date traffic information.
Temperatures are expected to remain at or near triple digits this week, which will naturally increase fire activity and risk.
The ODF Southwest Oregon District continues suppression efforts on additional fires within the district. Resources remain available to respond to new fire starts within the complex area.
For fire local information anytime, visit the district’s Facebook page, @ODFSouthwest or website, www.swofire.com.
