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Press release from Six Rivers National Forest:

Butler Fire: 10,093 acres; 2% containment

Red Fire: 116 acres; 95% containment

Operational Updates:

Butler Fire: Firefighters achieved 2 percent containment on the Butler Fire July 16 and successfully held the fire from jumping the Salmon River at a precarious corner south of Nordheimer Campground. The public is invited to a community meeting at 6 p.m. today at the Forks of Salmon Community Center, 15520 Salmon River Road. The meeting will also be streamed from the Six Rivers and Klamath National Forests Facebook pages. People did not need to have a Facebook account to watch a Facebook Live stream.

With the northern section of the fire secured around Butler Flat, crews are making their way south along Salmon River Road extinguishing isolated hot spots. Salmon River Road remains closed between Butler Flat and Nordheimer Campground as burning vegetation and debris further upslope continue to fall into the roadway.

Terrain and weather aligned along a southern section of Salmon River Road for an increased chance of spotting over the river near Boyd Hill. Firefighters and aircraft kept the fire within its eastern perimeter while it passed by the point and continued to push southward, staying upslope of the river.

Crews have begun moving into the Forks of Salmon and Yellow Jacket Ridge areas east of the Salmon River, as well as the Horn Creek and McNeal Creek areas west of the river to perform preliminary structure protection work and reopen preexisting containment lines as contingencies against the advancing southern front. Strategic backfiring and ridgetop ignitions further south might be necessary in coming days if conditions warrant and weather allows.

Fire remained active around Orleans Mountain in the fire’s southwest perimeter. Crews and aircraft continued to focus attention on a portion of the fire that pushed east of Butler Creek. Its westward advance was diminished as it entered into the burn scars of the 2024 Boise Fire and 2023 Pearch Fire.

Red Fire: Containment of the Red Fire remained at 95 percent as crews worked the remaining section of uncontained perimeter to locate and extinguish isolated hot spots.

Evacuations:

Butler Fire: Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office expanded its evacuation orders July 15 to include FRK-1709 (Forks of Salmon), SIS-1707-B, SIS-1708, SIS-1804 and SIS-1805. They join the following zones already under an evacuation order: SIS-1703, SIS-1704 (Butler Creek, Lewis Creek, Bloomer Mine residents and Nordheimer Campground), SIS-1707-A and SIS-1803-A.

Zones SIS-1705, SIS-1710, SIS-1802, SIS-1808 and SIS-1906 are under an evacuation warning, where residents are advised to be prepared to evacuate if conditions become more threatening. The latest evacuation information can be found at https://protect.genasys.com.

Closures:

Butler Fire: The road between Butler Flat and Nordheimer Campground remains closed as rocks and burning debris continued to fall into the roadway. National Forests: The Six Rivers and Klamath National Forests issued a joint closure order July 16 within the vicinity of the Butler Fire. The closure includes Nordheimer and Oak Bottom campgrounds.

Weather and Fire Behavior: Temperatures are expected to be slightly cooler today with highs in the mid to low 90s. Winds will mostly come out of the west with occasional gusts up to 20 miles an hour.

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