Single Publication

Fire Update Smith River Complex A.M. 8/22

Gasquet, Calif., August 22nd, 2023 —The Smith River Complex is approximately 40,000 acres with zero percent containment. Strong northeast winds affected the fire area overnight, but an inversion settled in, dampening fire behavior on most of the complex yesterday morning. Areas of the Kelly fire aligned with Stony Creek (north of Hwy 199) and Craigs Creek (south of Hwy 199) and made significant movement to the southwest growing approximately 2.5 miles in the early morning hours. The west side of the Kelly fire moved into the North Fork Smith Roadless Area.

Today’s weather is expected to remain cooler, like Monday, allowing fire fighters to focus their efforts on structure preparation along the highway 199 corridor.  As the remnants of Hurricane Hillary exit the area, a warming trend will begin to settle in over the next few days. There are currently over 1150 total personnel on scene with many more expected to arrive in the coming days.

On the Smith River Complex North, fire suppression efforts are progressing as resources put in dozer line from Monkey Creek Ridge to Hwy 199. Northwest Incident Management Team 13 is coordinating with local fire departments to create a coordinated structure protection plan in the event of significant fire behavior moving towards residences.  Currently, in the Dwight Creek area, firefighters are conducting structure assessments. In Elk Creek, firefighters are providing structure preparation. 

The Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) around the Smith River Complex has been extended to the north, into Oregon. A TFR is established over incidents to provide for the safety of assigned aerial resources. When privately-owned drone incursions occur over the incident, all assigned aerial resources must land which stops the aerial suppression of the fire. These mandatory groundings of aircraft prevent firefighters from using all available resources to engage the fire. Remember, “If you fly, we can’t.”

Evacuations

All evacuation orders are issued by the Del Norte County Sheriff's Office. If you are in the Del Norte County, area please sign up for their Community Alert System to receive emergency notifications. Evacuation levels as of 8:00 am today August 21st are as follows:

Level 3 “Go Now”: Patrick Creek, Little Jones Creek, Copper Creek Drainage, Coon Creek/ 16n19 17n07, Washington Flat, Pioneer Road, Panther Flat Campground Area, all communities between Slant Bridge Road north to the Oregon Border along Highway 199, French Hill Road.

Level 2 “Be Set”: High Divide, Rowdy Creek, Big Flat/Rock Creek

Level 1 “Be Ready”: Low Divide, Hiouchi from Slant Bridge to the east end of North Bank Road

Closures

South Fork Road is open to residents only. Residents must provide proof of residency.

Howland Hill Road (Residents Only)

County road 316, Shelly Creek,

County Road 315 Holiday Mine

County Road 311 Old Gasquet Toll Road

County Road 305 Weimer Road

Forest Service Roads 16N19 and 17N07

U.S. Highway 199 is fully closed in Del Norte County from Slant Bridge Road to Oregon Mountain Road (PM 16 to 31) due to the fires. A hard closure is in place on U.S. 199 at the Agriculture Station near the Oregon border. For the latest road conditions please visit quickmap.dot.ca.gov

Effective Sunday, August 20, 2023, the Six Rivers National Forest has issued a forest-wide closure order. https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/srnf/notices/?cid=FSEPRD1096395

The American Red Cross has opened a shelter at the Del Norte County Fairgrounds (421 US-101 N, Crescent City, CA 95531) for those who are displaced by evacuations. Red Cross disaster workers are partnering with local officials to help ensure evacuees receive necessities, including food, water and shelter.

Please refer to the following social media for additional information:

Smith River Complex Inciweb: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/casrf-smith-river-complex

Facebook: Six River National Forest: https://www.facebook.com/SixRiversNF

                  Del Norte Office of Emergency Services: https://www.facebook.com/DelNorteOfficeOfEmergencyServices

                  Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office: https://www.facebook.com/DelNorteCountySheriffDepartment

                  Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest: https://www.facebook.com/R6RRSNF/

                 Josephine County Emergency Management: https://www.facebook.com/josephinecountyEM

                  Interactive evacuation map: https://rvem.org/