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Updated: Chetco Bar fire now nation's 'top priority' A member of the Rogue Valley 2 Task Force, composed of firefighters from multiple Jackson County agencies, took this picture of the Chetco Bar fire in Curry County, which is closing in on the 100,000-acre mark. Tuesday Aug 22, 2017 at 12:56 PM Aug 22, 2017 at 2:34 PM Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune @RyanPfeil The Chetco Bar fire, which has burned 98,000 acres of national forestland in Curry and Josephine counties, destroyed at least three houses and led to evacuations for Brookings-area residents, is now the "top priority" in the country, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. The fire's complexity, along with its threats to people, livestock, structures, infrastructure and resources, contributed to the decision, according to fire public information officer Greg Heule. "A lot of different things come into play when you start prioritizing which fire's number one," Heule said. Smoke from the fire contributed to poor air quality from Cave Junction to Ashland. All sites in the Rogue Valley that measure fine particulates have registered from unhealthy to very unhealthy air quality in the past 24 hours. The fire, which began in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness Area on old burn scars from previous wildfires, now has nearly 800 personnel assigned to it. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has authorized use of federal funds to help. Residents living along Cape Ferrello Road and Carpenterville Road north to Pistol River, and east and west off Carpenterville Road were allowed to return to their homes Tuesday, following a Sunday evacuation. They are still under a Level 2 — "get set" — evacuation advisory, officials said. Residents returning home were required to submit "re-entry materials," available at the Riley Creek Evacuation Center, 94350 Sixth St., Gold Beach, or Ray's Market, 906 Chetco Ave., in Brookings. On Sunday evening, thousands of area residents received a Level 3 — "go now" — evacuation notice as winds pushed the flames to the south and west toward the coast. Three houses have been confirmed destroyed, according to public information officer Tommy Schroeder. An interactive map showing the evacuation area can be viewed online at http://arcg.is/2vWQN2N. Users can type their address into a search bar on the page to see if their home is in either of the evacuation advisory areas. The lightning-sparked blaze burning since July 12 surged recently due to strong "Chetco effect" winds that fanned the flames and pushed it across a parched landscape baked by the summer sun. "The biggest factor was the weather conditions," Heule said. The Chetco effect produces high temperatures and winds that blow from out of the northeast and toward the coast. Heule said 14 additional task forces are assigned to the fire, including nine from Oregon, two from Washington and three from California. The Rogue Valley 2 Task Force, made up of local personnel from Jackson County Fire District No. 3, Medford Fire-Rescue, Jackson County Fire District No. 5 and Ashland Fire & Rescue joined the effort Sunday. Two or three firefighters represent each agency, according to Fire District No. 3 public information officer Ashley Blakely. The strike team has been working the 8 p.m. to 9 a.m. night shift. “They're doing structure protection mostly, and making sure the roadways are clear for fire apparatus," Blakely said. Other firefighters are taking advantage of higher humidity levels to scout terrain around the fire to identify natural and manmade features they can use for indirect fire lines. "Yesterday, (Tuesday) and Wednesday, we're very fortunate with the weather conditions," Heule said. A majority of the smoke that has smothered the skies over Jackson County in recent days is from the Chetco Bar fire, though other fires such as the 11,000-acre Miller Complex in southwest Jackson County and multiple fires in western Siskiyou County have also contributed to the thick haze. Air quality across Jackson and Josephine counties has dipped at times to "unhealthy" levels in recent days, and was listed as unhealthy Tuesday in Medford, Ashland, Shady Cove, Grants Pass and Cave Junction, according to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. Red Lily Vineyards on Highway 238 in the Applegate posted a message on its Facebook page Tuesday saying it would remain closed because of the smoke. Health officials have urged area residents to limit exposure to the smoke, especially those with respiratory conditions such as asthma. "Just stay safe," Blakely said. "It's been a nasty one this year." — Reach reporter Ryan Pfeil at 541-776-4468 or [email protected]. Follow him at www.twitter.com/ryanpfeil.