 |
| Above: Smoke rises from the Flounce Fire north of Medford. |
Oregon Department of Forestry firefighters
from the Grants Pass and Medford offices worked through last night constructing fire line on the Flounce Fire, located
about 22 miles north of Medford. The fire was first
reported as two separate fires late Monday afternoon. The main fire burned
nearly 50 acres by sunset. It and a smaller fire joined shortly after burning close
to 200 acres by midnight. By early this morning, the lightning-sparked fire had burned more than 250 acres, according to district estimates.
ODF has dispatched its Incident Management Team 1 to the fire today. Command of the fire will transfer from the Southwest Oregon District
to that team at 5 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 9.
A Level One (Be Ready) evacuation notice has been issued
by Jackson
County Emergency Management for residents on Evergreen Drive and Lewis
Road near Prospect.
The fire is burning on timbered land that ranges from moderate to very steep. The rugged terrain was one of
the primary challenges over the past 12 hours. Still, crews were able to lay hose to help control fire activity. Today,
firefighters will continue to knock down the active portions of the fire, as
well as continue building a control line around the perimeter. Additional ground and air resources have been ordered.
Along
with Oregon Department of Forestry crews from the Southwest Oregon District, a Rogue Valley Strike Team was activated. The
strike team consists of structural protection units from Jackson County Fire
District 4, Jackson County Fire District 5, Jackson County Fire District 3,
Medford Fire-Rescue, Jacksonville Fire and Ashland Fire-Rescue. Ten-person and
20-person crews are also on scene, and several Oregon Department of Corrections
inmate crews have arrived to assist with fire line construction. Roughly 250 personnel are currently working on the fire, with more resources on the
way.
A red flag warning has been issued
from noon to 10 p.m. today, with abundant lightning in the forecast. The
fire danger level on ODF-protected lands in Jackson
and Josephine counties is “extreme” (red) today. For a full list of the public
restrictions currently in place, visit ODF Southwest Oregon District’s Facebook page @ODFSouthwest or our website: www.swofire.com.