1:31 p.m. update: The Level 1 evacuation order for residents in evacuation zone JAC-112, in the 6000 block of Tiller Trail Highway (Highway 227), due to the 15-acre East Trail Creek Fire, has been canceled.

12:05 p.m. update: A Level 2 evacuation order has been downgraded to Level 1 “Be ready-alert” for residents in evacuation zone JAC-112, in the 6000 block of Tiller Trail Highway (Highway 227), due to the 15-acre East Trail Creek Fire.

The evacuation order, issued by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and Jackson County Emergency Management, was the first issued for the region’s latest group of fires.

Oregon District officials were assessing and deploying resources from ODF and USFS Forest Service Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest to multiple fire starts following Monday night thunderstorms.

ODF District officials confirmed in an 8:30 a.m. update that crews had responded to nearly a dozen reports of smoke or fire with crews engaged in an aggressive initial attack on two fires, the Alder Creek and Hibbard Point Fires, located next to each other northwest of Prospect.

Those fires are being held at 2.5 acres and half an acre, respectively.

The East Trail Creek Fire, according to Watch Duty fire maps, had grown to some 15 acres by 10 a.m. with ODF officials working to provide updated information on multiple additional fires.

Resources worked overnight to assess and begin lining the multiple fires and air crews were deployed just after 9 a.m. Tuesday to investigate additional reports of light smoke in remote areas around Lost Creek Lake and Prospect, with one report south of Applegate and northeast of Grayback Mountain.

“Due to our current fire load, hot temperatures predicted and the slight potential for more thunderstorms today, we’ve cancelled days off across the district, and we’ll be bringing all of our staff on today to be available for fire response,” ODF officials said in an online post.

Confirmed areas of fire activity that have been identified, and named for mapping purposes, include the Alder Creek and Hibbard Point fires as well as the Star Gulch Fire — between Williams and Grayback Mountain and the Summit Prairie Fire — between Prospect and Butte Falls. 

The East Trail Creek Road and Yellow Rock fires are near Shady Cove while the Mule Creek Fire is closer to Butte Falls.

ODF officials increased fire danger level to “high” (yellow) on Monday for ODF-protected lands in anticipation of the Monday night storms.

The status change affected 1.8 million acres of state, private, county and Bureau of Land Management lands in Jackson and Josephine counties.

For specific restrictions, visit the Oregon Wildfire Response and Recovery website.
To find out what zone you live in go to protect.genasys.com.

Reach reporter Buffy Pollock at 458-488-2029 or buffy.pollock@rv-times.com. Follow her on Twitter @orwritergal.