Cool, wet weather ends evacuation notice - News - MailTribune.com - Medford, OR

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Cool, wet weather ends evacuation notice A Crater Lake National Park webcam shows snow on the ground at the Steel Visitor Center, a few miles from Rim Village and the Crater Lake Lodge. Thursday Sep 21, 2017 at 2:13 PM Sep 21, 2017 at 5:33 PM Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune @RyanPfeil An evacuation advisory for residents of Union Creek that had been in place since last month has been dropped amid a spate of wet, cool weather that continues to aid crews working to contain the High Cascades fire complex burning nearby. The Level 1 — "get ready" — evacuation notice was removed at 6 p.m. Wednesday, three weeks after it was instituted Aug. 30. The 79,342-acre High Cascades complex consists of several lightning-sparked fires burning near Crater Lake National Park, and was considered 32 percent contained Thursday. A Level 1 notice remains in effect for Mazama Village, according to officials on the fire's eastern zone. Photos taken Thursday morning at the park show it's begun shifting into a snowscape. "(The) Spruce Lake fire got substantial snowfall," said fire public information officer Sarah Wheeler. "It looks like a winter wonderland up there." From Sunday to Thursday, parts of the fire complex saw anywhere from 2 to 3 inches of precipitation, according to data from remote automated weather stations maintained by the U.S. Forest Service. During the same period, the 190,512-acre Chetco Bar fire received anywhere from 1½ to 2 inches, National Weather Service meteorologist Misty Firmin said. That blaze, which has been burning since July 12, was considered 94 percent contained Thursday. The 36,496-acre Miller Complex, a group of lightning fires that began in the Applegate area Aug. 14, was at 65 percent containment. The cool, damp weather is expected to start heading for the exits as the weekend approaches. High temperatures in the low to mid-70s are expected for the Rogue Valley Friday through Sunday, with a temperature bump back up to the 80s Monday and Tuesday. "After (Thursday), it’s pretty much gone," Firmin said. "It’ll be dry through the weekend and into next week." — Reach reporter Ryan Pfeil at 541-776-4468 or [email protected]. Follow him at www.twitter.com/ryanpfeil.