MERLIN, Ore. — The Rum Creek Fire has spread to 22 square miles— roughly the size of the city of Hillsboro — with 1% containment in a largely remote rural area in southern Oregon, fire officials reported Wednesday.
Heavy smoke stopped water drops by air on the east side of the blaze Wednesday, the Associated Press (AP) reported. An Air Quality advisory continues through Thursday for Jackson, Josephine and Curry counties because of smoke from the fire.
On Wednesday, with the fire expanding on the east side near McKnabe Creek, fire officials shifted resources to the area to establish new control lines. Firefighters worked to protect structures by clearing flammable materials from roofs and yards, installing sprinklers and other measures.
"This is rough country," said Joe Hessel, incident commander for Oregon Department of Forestry Team 1. "Every foot, every chain, every mile of line we complete is a big deal."
Evacuations are still in place in several unincorporated communities along the Rogue River. The fire is burning on both sides of the river and threatening houses and other structures in the towns of Galice and Rand. One home and two structures have been destroyed.
On Wednesday, the Josephine County Sheriff's Office issued Level 1 "Be Ready" evacuation notices for the following areas:
- North of Copper Queen Road and 2000 Block of Dog Creek Road
- South of Rattlesnake Road and Tunnel Creek
- East of Brimstone Road, Lowe Grave Creek Road and Joe Count
- West of I-5
On Tuesday night, fire officials held a meeting for the Rum Creek Fire to inform the community on what the fire is doing. The community heard from firefighters and law enforcement as they explained their efforts to control the spread of the fire.
Predicted hot weather was a main topic as the area has been lacking in moisture, according to officials.
"Since this fire started, we've seen fairly persistent hot, dry weather," said Dean Warner, a fire behavior analyst with Oregon Department of Forestry.
Fire increase is predicted through Friday as the weather shifts to a hotter, drier pattern, fire officials said.
Firefighters have continuously worked on containment lines around the fire to stabilize it and avoid it from coming downhill. About 1,300 firefighters are currently helping fight the fire, with additional firefighters coming in.
Operation chiefs had seen a tremendous amount of progress Tuesday morning until last nights increase.
"I will throw every piece of equipment we have and the ones we have waiting to protect your structures," said Scott Magers with the Oregon State Fire Marshal's office.
Rogue River below Grave Creek will remain open. If conditions worsen the area will be closed. River status is determined on a day-to-day basis.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown declared a state of emergency Saturday as the fire quadrupled in size overnight. The emergency act allowed the state fire marshal to take command of suppression efforts.
The fire, which was started by lightning on Aug. 17, resulted in the death of Logan Taylor, a 25-year-old firefighter from Talent, Ore., after he was struck by a tree the next day.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled Scott Magers' last name.