October 20, 2021 9:50 a.m. 

The 2021 fire season on the Oregon Department of Forestry Southwest Oregon District has officially been declared over, as of Wednesday.

A release said the declaration affects 1.8 million acres of state, private, county and Bureau of Land Management forestlands in Jackson and Josephine counties. It eliminates all public regulated use restrictions and industrial fire precaution level requirements.

Acting District Forester Tyler McCarty said the summer had the potential to be another devastating fire season in southern Oregon. McCarty said “Despite that, ODF Southwest is thankful for the season we had – busy, but successful”.

During this year’s fire season from May 12th through October 20th, ODF Southwest District firefighters responded to 278 fires for a total of 273 acres burned, with no homes damaged or destroyed. ODF as an agency has a goal of stopping 98 percent of its fires at 10 acres or less. This year the Southwest Oregon District nearly met this goal at 97.8 percent. Year to date, the district has responded to 337 fires for 389 acres burned. The release said the agency credits this not only to its aggressive initial attack strategies and well-trained firefighters, but the partners throughout the region, from federal agencies to local fire departments, that have helped to make this season a success.

The largest fire on the district was the North River Road Fire which was stopped at 60 acres in late June.

Fire prevention tips and additional information is available at: www.swofire.com