September 9, 2022 11:20 a.m.

Hot, dry and windy conditions are in place at the Rum Creek Fire in Josephine County.

Winds are forecast to gust up to 30 mile per hour from the northeast, with very high temperatures of up to 100 degrees. Relative humidity levels will be very low during the day, with little recovery at night. The combination will create critical wildfire conditions.

An update said pockets of residual heat are fanned by the winds, increasing activity. On Thursday, more of the remaining vegetation south of the Rogue River near Montgomery Creek burned, reducing the chance of fire jumping the river.

Throughout the fire Thursday, embers fanned by winds began to smoke. Firefighters extinguished residual heat near containment lines and monitored other areas of the fire watching for flare-ups. More hidden hot spots are expected to become active between Friday and Saturday, under the conditions forecast.

At this time, most fuels burning on the Rum Creek Fire are larger fuel types such as logs and buried roots. Most fine fuels were consumed during earlier periods of the fire. Large logs and stump holes are expected to continue smoking until they are consumed or extinguished.

The fire has been cooled and mopped up extensively near Galice, allowing the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office to reduce the area affected by the Level 3 GO NOW evacuation notice. Some locations west of the Rogue River near Galice and Taylor Creek Road are now at Level 2 GET READY and are open to residents only.

The fire is at 21,347 acres and is 46 percent contained.