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Cooler Temps Continue To Dampen Regional Wildfires

inciweb.nwcg.gov

  (UPDATED 10:08 a.m., Wednesday, June 17)

Fire fighters continue to gain ground are on the two main active wild fires in southern Oregon and northern California.

The Buckskin fire in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest and the Saddle fire in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest continue to burn, but cooler temperatures and higher relative humidity for the past few days have let work crews make make progress on containing the fires.

As of Wednesday morning, the Buckskin fire had grown to 2,360 acres, barely increasing from yesterday. The fire, moving eastward toward the Josephine/Curry County line, is burning in an area burned by the 2002 Biscuit fire. Officials say steep terrain, limited access and numerous snags left over from the Biscuit fire have led them to take a conservative approach, meant to limit firefighter exposure to the hazards.

Water drops are helping douse some spot fires and bulldozers are reinforcing the eastern and southern flanks of the fire to strengthen containment lines. The surrounding area has been closed to the public.

Citing "excellent progress" made by crews on Tuesday, incident command at the Buckskin fire says crews successfully contained the largest of the spot fires southwest of the main fire. Plans are being made for a possible deliberate "burnout" on Thursday, which would clear fuels from the path of the fire, keeping it from spreading. On Wednesday, tankers are expected to lay down retardant in anticipation of that burn operation.

Officials say towns in the Illinois Valley may experience moderate smoke Wednesday afternoon. If burning operations go forward as planned on Thursday, valley residents can expect more intense smoke Thursday afternoon.

About 80 people attended a community meeting in Cave Junction Tuesday night, to get updates on the fire situation and to ask questions.

In California, crews have been reinforcing containment lines in steep terrain around the 1,540-acre Saddle fire in Trinity County. The lines have been holding and crews are dousing hot spots to within 50 feet of the fire. 

Incident command says crews observed minimal fire behavior Tuesday, allowing them to focus on patrolling and mopping up as needed. Wednesday night will be the last full overnight shift, but patrolling will continue.

The fire is 80 percent contained. All mandatory evacuation orders have been lifted.

Liam Moriarty has been covering news in the Pacific Northwest for three decades. He served two stints as JPR News Director and retired full-time from JPR at the end of 2021. Liam now edits and curates the news on JPR's website and digital platforms.