Update (07-24-18 1:40 p.m.) – At 1:00 p.m. on July 21, Evacuation levels around the Taylor Creek Fire were downgraded from Level 3 (go) to a Level 2 (be set). Details: https://kobi5.com/news/evacuation-levels-downgraded-near-taylor-creek-fire-82308/
Original story: GRANTS PASS, Ore. – Local firefighters provided an update on the Taylor Creek Fire Tuesday morning.
The chief officers at Rural Metro Fire published the following open letter at about 9:00 a.m. Tuesday:
Note: This update is specific to the Taylor Creek Fire only. Maps and specifics are not 100% accurate because details change hourly. At this time, containment % is unknown.
The following is a basic recap of the events and activities that has occurred since Friday evening on July 20, when we were faced with the huge blow-up in the West Pickett Creek drainage. That night the fire grew from about 400 acres, to about 5000 acres.
As a result of the unprecedented fire growth the Governor declared a conflagration giving us access to a lot of resources. Help came from all across the country, as the Garner Complex became nation’s top priority fire. The resources ordered included dozens of structural fire engines from all over Oregon to give Rural Metro Fire and our mutual aid partners in the Rogue Valley a break. Rural Metro Fire has still been actively involved in management and planning, as well as patrolling the Riverbanks corridor each day to talk with residents and be there if needed by our visiting crews.
The out-of-town crews that arrived as part of the conflagration order, have been visiting each home directly affected by this fire’s threat to map, triage and familiarize themselves in the event conditions change. Currently, the entire area around the fire has had varying evacuation levels (1, 2 or 3) as a result of that potential threat and concern for resident safety.
The overall strategy being employed involves stopping the fire on the ridgetops west of the threatened homes. This job belongs to our awesome crews from ODF Southwest Oregon District and their support teams brought in by a large ODF Incident Management Team. The structural crews provide support to ODF, take care of spot fires around those homes and serve as a back-up plan if the ODF lines are over-run. Hundreds of hotshots, engine crews, handcrews, bulldozers, water trucks and aircraft have deployed long [sic] all edges of this fire to keep that from happening. Even though the smoke is thick, we promise they are working around the clock to get this done. The ODF crews are “our” heros!
The tactical objectives each day includes building fire line by hand, bulldozer or aircraft where ground is favorable. We live in some really steep country, so building line is only done where it can be done safely. Some of it is just waiting for the fire to move to existing mountain roads, or burning the ground deliberately to make a “blackened” control line. Some of this activity does bring the fire really close to the hillsides near homes. Fire does continue to push slowly south to southeast, including the independent spot fire that is on the hill above homes on Limpy Creek. But we have some of the best hotshots and firefighters around, doing the job.
Fire line with the highest priority are in areas closest to homes along the Pickett Creek, Shan Creek and Limpy Creek homes. Other areas along Riverbanks, Dutcher Creek and Marcy Loop remain important, and our eye is kept on the fire progression each day. Even homes really far away on Hwy 199 in Wilderville and Wonder, as well as along Galice Rd and Taylor Creek Rd are equally important to us, and we are trying to keep residents alerted to the fire progress. Rural Metro officers are actively engaged on all decisions affecting evacuations of our local residents.
Fire line containment using aircraft has been significantly affected by the smoke. While the heavy smoke makes it uncomfortable to breath and limits aircraft use, it also keeps fire behavior lower which allows firefighters to get more control lines built. It’s a love/hate compromise.
Please use the official fire information line (541-474-5305) as your primary source for fire information, but we also understand they are often swamped with info-overload trying to manage a “complex” of fires across both counties. So we will do what we can to help you, and will keep producing periodic updates such as this (when time allows), but you are welcome to ask questions if you have them.
Rural Metro Fire remains dedicated to ensure this fire stays away from your home, and we are truly grateful for the help we are getting from the state, and the awesome work done by ODF.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.