Crews continued to fight the Upper Applegate Fire on Saturday but the two zones bordering the fire were increased to just below mandatory evacuations.
The zones in Level 2 include:
JAC-434: Eastside Rd south of Little Applegate Rd to north of McKee Bridge, rural Jacksonville.
JAC-436: Little Applegate Rd, west of Upper Applegate Rd, and eastern portions of Sterling Creek Rd., rural Jacksonville.
According to the Oregon Department of Forestry, the fire is being held at 500 acres, but other . More than 200 personnel are fighting the fire including air tankers, helicopters, tree fallers and two task forces from the Oregon State Fire Marshal.
The fire is burning in extremely steep terrain in an area that has been affected by large scale die-off of drought-stressed Douglas fir trees.
"The terrain on this fire has posed numerous safety issues, from the steep slope to hazardous trees and rocks that have been falling. While tactics remain aggressive to corral this fire fully, the safety of those working the incident is also a top priority," reads a description from the
.
