September 1, 2022 11:10 a.m. 

The Rum Creek Fire in Josephine County is now over 15,600 acres.

The latest update from Northwest Incident Management Team 13 said firefighters continue to concentrate on the east side of the fire, focusing on areas of slop-over from Tuesday evening. Crews have established new fire lines and cooled its edge, keeping the fire from spreading further east. Fire managers connected new fire lines to previously established line south toward the Rogue River and conducted a tactical burn.

Firefighters are concentrating work in and near the McKnabe Creek drainage. The fire is burning actively in that area and crews intend to initiate line construction. Firefighters and dozers are working south from Grave Creek, preparing fire lines for a tactical firing in the coming days.

On the west side, fire personnel are making progress securing the fire’s edge. They have extended the tactical firing to the north and south from the west side of Mount Peavine. This connects existing burned areas with established fire lines toward the Rogue River and Bear Gulch. The completed line, when mopped up and secured, is expected to stop fire growth to the west.

The update said firefighters working in residential areas continue to assist with active fire suppression as needed. They have extinguished nearly all residual heat within 200 feet of buildings in and around Galice. Most of the structural resources are shifting to the east of the fire to assess structures and do pre-planning and structural preparation in case the fire pushes in that direction.

The fire is expected to burn actively due to high temperatures and low relative humidity. On Friday afternoon or evening, a dry cold front will move through the area. This will bring slightly cooler temperatures but is also expected to bring gusty winds from the northwest. Personnel will be monitoring the weather closely and watching for flare ups.

1,934 people are assigned to the Rum Creek Fire.