The Rum Creek Fire burning in rural Josephine County, Ore., on Aug. 27, 2022.
Oregon Department of Forestry
A wildfire in remote southwest Oregon gained thousands of acres this weekend, forcing evacuations and destroying several structures.
The Rum Creek Fire increased from about 1,200 acres Friday to over 9,500 acres by Sunday morning. Evacuations were ordered for several unincorporated communities along the Rogue River, a popular spot for rafters and fishers.
The blaze is burning near the unincorporated communities of Galice and Rand, about 20 miles northwest of Grants Pass. About 200 people and more than 100 homes are under evacuation, according to Josephine County Emergency Management.
The agency says about three structures were destroyed, but it’s not clear if any of them were houses.
A heat wave moving into the area in coming days could worsen the situation and make it easier for fuels to burn, officials said.
Local officials are urging residents to familiarize themselves with the evacuation level system and to remain vigilant. They issued “go now” evacuations and lower-level evacuation alerts for homes near the fire. The Josephine County Sheriff’s Office is maintaining a digital evacuation map here.
Gov. Kate Brown invoked an emergency conflagration order Saturday morning in response to the Rum Creek Fire. The Oregon Department of Forestry Southwest District on Facebook explained that sudden winds caused the fire to grow and pushed it toward more residential areas.
The fire was started by lightning on Aug. 17 and killed Logan Taylor, a 25-year-old firefighter, after he was struck by a tree the next day. Brown has ordered all flags at Oregon public institutions to be flown at half-staff on Monday in honor of Taylor, with his memorial service to be held the same day.
The county fairgrounds in Grants Pass has been designated as an evacuation shelter, with space for people, their pets and livestock.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
