Rum Creek Fire quiet
MERLIN, Ore. – Monday was another quiet day on the Rum Creek Fire, with no increase in size and containment rising to 80%. The light rain Sunday night and Monday morning helped cool the fire, reducing the amount of residual heat. Today, fire personnel continue to patrol the fire’s perimeter, finding scattered hot spots and extinguishing them. They are also pulling hose lays and other surplus equipment, and hauling them back to camp near Merlin.
The primary fire lines around the fire are holding, with no heat found outside them for several days. In areas where the Rum Creek Fire is contained, contingency lines constructed as a “catcher’s mitt” around the fire are no longer needed. The contingency lines are a combination of dozer lines and roads. They are being assessed for repair, stabilization and erosion prevention needs, and excess woody debris will be removed.
As part of the repair process, dozer lines are usually waterbarred to reduce erosion. Waterbar drainage dips help intercept water and direct it off of erodible soils onto stable surfaces like unburned areas of the forest floor or piles of rocks or branches. Berms of soil and woody debris along the edges of dozer lines are pulled back onto the lines and smoothed. This returns the slope to a profile closer to the original shape and aids water dispersion.
Sometimes heavy equipment like an excavator will grab cut brush, limbs, and logs and scatter them over the exposed soils for additional erosion control. This dissipates the force of rain falling onto the soils, keeping more soil in place. This woody debris also helps catch seeds to revegetate the bare soil.
Where roads are used as fire lines, fire crews frequently “prep” the roads by cutting brush, small trees crowded between other trees, and the lower limbs from trees adjacent to the road. The cut vegetation is usually carried across the road and stacked on the opposite side.
After a fire is contained, fire personnel dispose of these piles of woody materials as part of the repair process. Leaving the stacks in place can be unsightly and pose a fire hazard. A wood chipper is commonly used to reduce these piles into chips that are dispersed across the forest floor. The chips are less likely to burn than stacks of brush and limbs, and will rot quickly, adding nutrients to the soil.
The public is reminded to drive carefully on roads near the fire, including Galice Road. Fire personnel are actively working on the fire, creating heavy traffic on some roads. If you don’t need to be in the fire area, please stay out. Avoid chipping operations. Please slow down, keep your eyes on the road, and yield to oversized vehicles. Evacuations: Evacuation orders and notifications have not changed. An interactive map showing evacuation levels according to address can be found at //JosephineCounty.gov/FireMap. For the most current evacuation information and resources, go to Josephine County Incident Information (rvem.org).
Road control: Josephine County Sheriff’s Office has established traffic access points around the fire zone. Road blocks are located at Galice Store; Bear Camp Road at Peavine (top intersection); Lower Grave Creek Road at Angora Creek (Grays Ranch); Quartz Creek Road about 3 miles up (end of County maintenance); Dutch Henry Road near Kelsey Creek (42 44'56.2/123 40'35.4); and Hog Creek at Galice Road. Only residents (must show proof of residency) and permitted users will be allowed through. River status: The Wild section of the Rogue River below Grave Creek will remain open unless fire conditions warrant closure. River status is determined on a day-to-day basis. Please call 541-471-6535 for more information regarding Rogue River permits. No new boating permits will be issued at this time.
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