Fire lines hold on East Evans Creek Fire; Crews brace for return of hot, windy weather

Firefighters maximized a brief 36-hour break in the weather to secure the East Evans Creek Fire, increasing containment to 8% as the blaze reaches 13,999 acres.

All existing control lines held overnight across the fire's main footprint and its detached spot fires. Crews successfully installed more than 50 miles of hose lines across the incident to drop water directly onto lingering heat sources.

However, a dangerous shift in weather returns today. Extreme heat and dry conditions will push temperatures into the mid-90s, relative humidity will plunge near 20%, and afternoon northwest winds are expected to gust up to 25 mph. These conditions will significantly increase the risk of new spot fires breaching current lines. On the positive side, the weather shift will lift the morning smoke inversion, allowing firefighting aircraft to safely take flight to drop water and provide critical mapping intelligence.

Operational Update

• Main Fire Perimeter: Mop-up operations successfully fortified the southern, western, and northern flanks on Friday night. Today, crews are shifting focus to the northern edge, building new lines and removing fire-damaged hazard trees that threaten ground crews.
• Hull Mountain & Canyon Creek Spots: The spot fire northwest of Hull Mountain saw zero overnight growth. Near Shady Cove, lines on the Canyon Creek spot fire held firm. As a precaution, emergency crews continue building secondary fallback lines between the fires and the communities of Shady Cove and Trail.
• Board Mountain Spot: Containment lines on the north, east, and west flanks are holding well. Because heavy bulldozers cannot access the steep southern tip of this spot fire, hand crews are hiking in today to manually cut and complete the remaining fire line.
• Structure Defense: Structural firefighters worked through the night using thermal imaging cameras (TICs) to scan for hidden heat pockets near homes before they could flare up in today's wind. With risk diminished in heavily mopped-up neighborhoods, some crews are transitioning from active spraying to mobile patrol status.

Evacuations and Closures

• Evacuations: Mandated evacuation zones remain in effect across Jackson and Douglas counties. Due to the high wind forecast, residents are urged to monitor updates closely. Check current statuses on the Jackson County Emergency Information Hub and verify your zone on the Interactive Evacuation Map.
• Road Closures:
  • Tiller-Trail Highway is closed between Highway 62 and the Jackson County border.
  • East Evans Creek Road is closed to public traffic at Meadows Road.
  • West Fork Evans Creek Road and Rock Creek Road remain closed by BLM order. Real-time highway updates are available at TripCheck.
• BLM Land Closure: Public access-including hiking, hunting, and camping-is strictly illegal on BLM-administered lands near the fire. Maps are hosted at blm.gov/orwafire.
• Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR): A 24-hour TFR is active over the entire fire zone. Unauthorized drone use is illegal; any civilian drone spotted near the fire will immediately force all life-saving firefighting aircraft to ground.

Contact Information

• Fire Information Line: 971-209-6990
• Email: [email protected]
• Portals: ODF Team 1 Linktree | AirNow Smoke Map