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2023 Fire Season Information

Smith River Complex on the Oregon/California Border

  • For more information, visit Josephine County Incident Information.

    09/29/2023 10:00am
    Notice from Josephine County Sheriff, Canceled Level 1 - BE READY Smith River Fire Complex Fire

    Notice from Josephine County Sheriff, Josephine County Emergency Management. Canceled Level 1 - BE READY notice for Smith River Complex, all Level 1's are canceled for the Communities of O'Brien and Takilma.

    09/18/2023 1:00pm
    Notice from Josephine County Sheriff, Reduce to Level 1 - BE READY Smith River Complex North Fire
    Notice from Josephine County Sheriff, Reduce to Level 1 - BE READY notice for: Community of O'Brien, west of Hwy 199 from Mile Post 35 south to the OR/CA Border. Monitor conditions. Find preparedness resources at RVEM.org. Act early if there is any reason you might need extra time. Leave right away if you feel you are in immediate danger. If conditions change quickly, this may be the only alert you receive.
    For more information, call: 541-801-3495 8am-8pm
    www.rvem.org Rogue Valley Emergency Management


    09/11/2023 2:00pm
    Notice from Josephine County Sheriff: Reduce to Level 1 - BE READY Smith River Complex North Fire
    Notice from Josephine County Sheriff. Reduce to Level 1 - BE READY notice for: 
    Community of O'Brien including Takilma, East side of Hwy 199, From Rough and Ready Creek south to the OR/CA border. 
    Zones have changed, please look at Fire First Response Map
    Monitor conditions. Find preparedness resources at RVEM.org.
    Act early if there is any reason you might need extra time. Leave right away if you feel you are in immediate danger.
    If conditions change quickly, this may be the only alert you receive.
    For more information, call: 541-801-3495


    09/02/2023 12:00pm
    Notice from Josephine County Sheriff: Reduce to Level 2 BE SET to evacuate Smith River Complex North 2023

    Notice from Josephine County Sheriff. Reduce to Level 2 - BE SET to evacuate from Community of O'Brien: Hwy 199 South of mile post 38 to the California border.. Be ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice. Find resources at wildfire.oregon.gov. Act early if there is any reason you might need extra time. Leave right away if you feel you are in immediate danger. If conditions change quickly, this may be the only alert you receive. For more information, visit: www.rvem.org 541-801-3495


    https://protect.genasys.com/search Zones


    https://joco.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=37b8a655d90f4f82ba35ba107a827840 Fire First Response Map

    www.rvem.org Rogue Valley Emergency Management

    https://redcrossblog.org/disaster/#:~:text=Anyone%20who%20needs%20shelter%20from,1%2D800%2DRed%20Cross. Red Cross

     

    08/24/2023 6:30pm
    Wildfire Alert from Josephine County Sheriff: Level 1 - BE READY Smith River North Complex Fire

    Wildfire alert from Josephine County Sheriff. Level 1 - BE READY notice for: Southern Illinois Valley: South of Cave Junction, Bridgeview, Holland Loop Area - JCU-813B, 512, 513, 516, 514. Monitor conditions. Find preparedness resources at RVEM.org. Act early if there is any reason you might need extra time. Leave right away if you feel you are in immediate danger. If conditions change quickly, this may be the only alert you receive. For more information, call: 541-801-3495



    08/24/2023  5:56pm:
    Wildfire Alert from Josephine County Sheriff: Level 2 BE SET to evacuate Smith River North Complex

    Wildfire emergency alert from Josephine County Sheriff. Level 2 - BE SET to evacuate from Communities of O'Brien and Takilma: Hwy 199 at Rough and Ready Creek to MP38 and Rockydale at Waldo Road to the California Border. Be ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice. Find resources at wildfire.oregon.gov. Act early if there is any reason you might need extra time. Leave right away if you feel you are in immediate danger. If conditions change quickly, this may be the only alert you receive. For more information, call: 541-801-3495




    08/24/2024 5:25 pm:
    Wildfire Alert from Josephine County Sheriff: Level 3 GO NOW - Evacuate immediately! Smith River North Complex

    Wildfire alert from Josephine County Sheriff. Level 3 - GO NOW evacuation from Community of O'Brien: Hwy 199 South of mile post 38 to the California border. Leave without delay. It is unsafe to stay and threatens the safety of you, your family, and emergency responders. Your life could be in great danger. Emergency services personnel may not be available to help you if you choose to stay. This may be the only alert you receive. Find resources at wildfire.oregon.gov. For more information, call: 541-801-3495



    08/22/2023 2 p.m.: Notice from Josephine County Sheriff: Level 1 - BE READY Smith River North Complex Fire

    Notice from Josephine County Sheriff. Level 1 - BE READY notice for: Forested area from Lone Mountain Road to Buckskin Peak. Monitor conditions. Find preparedness resources at RVEM.org. Act early if there is any reason you might need extra time. Leave right away if you feel you are in immediate danger. If conditions change quickly, this may be the only alert you receive. For more information, visit: www.rvem.org

    08/18/2023 3:00pm: Josephine County Sheriff has issued a Level 1 - BE READY Smith River Complex Fire Josephine County Sheriff. Level 1 - BE READY notice for: Community of O'Brien, Hwy 199 south of Rough & Ready Creek to the California Border. Monitor conditions. Find preparedness resources at RVEM.org. Act early if there is any reason you might need extra time. Leave right away if you feel you are in immediate danger. If conditions change quickly, this may be the only alert you receive.

    08/19/2023 2:40pm: This is a notice from Josephine County Sheriff. Level 2 - BE SET to evacuate from the following areas: O'Brien: Hwy 199 south of mile post 39 and along the California Border.

    Due to fire activity Smith River Complex

    O'Brien: Hwy 199 south of mile post 39 and along the California Border.

    For more 


Wildfire Information

Emergency Management, in cooperation with our public safety partners, created this page to provide emergency information for our residents and visitors. Josephine County is subject to a number of natural and manmade hazards. We encourage the public to be prepared for emergencies by having a kit, making a plan and staying informed.

Shelter information


Temporary evacuation point information

  • No temporary evacuation point is open at this time. If one is activated, information will be shared here and with media for public awareness. 

Animal shelter information

  • No animal evacuation shelter for livestock or companion animals are open at this time. If one is activated, information will be shared here and with media for public awareness. 

Animals can take longer to load and transport in an emergency. Owners are encouraged to make an evacuation plan and practice it with their animals, so it feels more familiar during an event. Local animal rescue and evacuation groups may be able to help you make an emergency plan or find a private shelter, but reaching out before an emergency is happening will be most beneficial.

Evacuation level information

Level 1

Be ready for potential evacuation. Residents should be aware of the danger that exists in their area, monitor emergency services websites and local media outlets for information. This is the time for preparation and precautionary movements of persons with special needs, mobile property and (under certain circumstances) pets and livestock. If conditions worsen, emergency services personnel may contact you via an emergency notification system.

Level 2

Be set to evacuate. You must prepare to leave at a moment’s notice. This level indicates there is significant danger to your area, and residents should either voluntary relocate to a shelter or with someone outside of the affected area, or if choosing to remain, be ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice. Residents MAY have time to gather necessary items, but doing so is at their own risk. This may be the only notice you receive. Emergency services cannot guarantee that they will be able to notify you if conditions rapidly deteriorate. Area media services will assist to broadcast periodic updates.    

Level 3

Go! Evacuate now. Leave immediately! Danger to your area is current or imminent, and you should evacuation immediately. If you choose to ignore this advisement, you must understand that emergency services will not be available to assist you further. Do not delay leaving to gather any belongings or make efforts to protect your home. This will be the last notice you receive.

Call center

  • No call center is not activated at this time. 

Find out more about emergencies in your area

Effectively communicating emergency information requires a partnership between local government, emergency responders, the media and the public. Although emergency information is made available, the public must make a conscious effort to seek out that information. Information is available in a variety of sources and formats.

Depending on the emergency, one or more sources may be used. Please follow these agency Facebook pages, and feel free to share pertinent information on your own pages as it becomes available.

We ask that you be patient if you experience a delay in seeing incident information posted to official websites and/or social media accounts. Although you may hear about an incident from unofficial sources, information must be verified as accurate and important before officials can share it.

Facebook pages


Citizen Alert

Receive notifications about emergencies in your area via telephone, text or email. During an emergency, local officials or emergency responders can send information about the disaster, including evacuation notifications or shelter in place advisories to members of the public who have signed up to receive these alerts. This system is populated with landline telephone information and cell phones from participating carriers; however, if you don't have a landline phone or have service through a participating carrier, we don't have your information unless you create an account! 

Local information

Our local media does a fantastic job at providing timely information to the public during emergencies. Most television stations and newspapers have breaking news on their websites, as well as social media feeds. Some radio stations have websites also.

Local media outlets

  • KOBI
  • News 5
  • KLDR
  • Grants Pass Daily Courier
  • KTVL
  • News 10
  • KAJO
  • Illinois Valley News
  • KDRV
  • News 12
  • KXCJ


Fire-related websites


Smoke-related websites


Road conditions

  • Visit Trip Check or call 411 before you travel to find out about the latest road conditions and closures in Oregon.
  • Visit California Department of Transportation or call (800) 427-7623 for information about road conditions and closures in California.

Do not depend on just one source of information to keep you and your family safe!