The Rum Creek Fire in Josephine County is currently threatening lives, structures, and property as fire behavior continued to increase over the last few days. Saturday, the Oregon Office of State Marshal (OSFM) mobilized five (5) task forces and Crew 30, all of whom have arrived safely on scene to engage in firefighting operations on Rum Creek. These resources were mobilized from within Oregon through the Oregon Fire Mutual Aid System (OFMAS).
Additionally, one (1) strike team and three (3) task forces will be deployed from California through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) and the Office of Emergency Management. Those resources will join the existing local, state, and federal resources currently at the incident on Monday, August 29th. Pacific Northwest Interagency Team 13, Oregon Department of Forestry Team 1, and the Office of State Fire Marshal Blue Team are in unified command.
Governor Kate Brown declared a conflagration on early Saturday morning for the Rum Creek Fire to clear the way for the State Fire Marshal to mobilize firefighters and equipment to assist local resources battling the fire.
“Oregon has a robust response system that provides resources at a local, regional, and statewide level. Our interstate partnerships and relationship are an integral component of our response system,” Oregon State Fire Marshal, Mariana Ruiz-Temple said. “OSFM was able to mobilize resources earlier this year to the McKinney fire, and we are grateful that our California neighbors can support us with the extra capacity for the Rum Creek Fire now.”
Hot, dry weather conditions and lightning are forecasted in other portions of Oregon in the coming days. With high temperatures and weather conditions helping fires grow quickly, the Office of the State Fire Marshal asks all Oregonians to be cautious, safe, and help prevent fires.
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