A number of wildfires sparked by lightning two weeks ago are still burning in rugged terrain in southern Oregon. One on which good progress has been made is the Snowshoe Fire, part of the 9,198-acre South Umpqua Complex. The Oregon Department of Forestry is in unified command with the U.S. Forest Service on the Snowshoe Fire in northern Jackson County.
About two-thirds of the fire’s estimated 3,485 acres are in the Umpqua National Forest and the remainder – about 1,285 acres – is on lands protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry.
Firefighters have established firelines by hand or dozer all the way around the Snowshoe Fire. Large interior pockets of fuel continue to burn. Many hot areas near the fire need to be cooled before the fire can be considered fully contained, with no chance of escaping from its perimeter. Progress on the fire has allowed the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office to reduce the evacuation level in areas near the Snowshoe Fire to Level 1.
On a smaller fire to the northeast, the 985-acre Miles Fire, evacuation notices remain at Level 2. About 59 acres of that fire have burned on land protected by ODF.