Oregon: Onion Mountain Fire, west of Grants Pass

(UPDATE at 11:45 a.m. PDT, September 16, 2014)

Onion Mountain Fire, September 15, 2014. Photo by Joseph.

The Onion Mountain Fire 15 miles west of Grants Pass, Oregon has grown to 3,000 acres. Part of that increase is the result of a burnout operation. Most of the spread of the fire was on the northwest and northeast sides.

Map, Onion Mountain Fire 10 pm 9-15-2014 — Map of the Onion Mountain Fire. The red line was the fire perimeter at 10 pm September 15, 2014. The yellow line was the perimeter about 24 hours previously. (click to enlarge)

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(UPDATE at 9:06 a.m. PDT, September 15, 2014)

The Onion Mountain Fire 15 miles west of Grants Pass, Oregon continued to spread Sunday afternoon.

Map of the Onion Fire at 2 a.m. PDT, September 15, 2014. (click to enlarge)

The Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest lists the size at 1,500 acres with no containment. Resources assigned include 181 personnel, seven hand crews, and eight helicopters. About ten residences are threatened.

The weather forecast for the fire area has been changed, with stronger winds predicted in the late afternoon. Monday morning the winds should be out of the east at 3 to 8 mph, shifting to a west wind after 5 p.m. gusting up to 18 mph. The 180-degree wind shift could be a problem for unaware firefighters. The relative humidity will be in the low 20s with the temperature in the high 80s.

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Onion Mountain Fire. Photo by Joseph, September 14, 2014 — Onion Mountain Fire, as seen from the Merlin, Oregon rappel base, which will become the helibase for the fire. Photo by Joseph, September 14, 2014. The fire is 11 miles southwest of Merlin.

The Onion Mountain Fire, 15 miles west of Grants Pass, Oregon, had burned about 500 acres at the last report Sunday night. The nearby San Brown and Meyers Campgrounds have been closed.

Map Onion Mountain Fire — Map of the Onion Mountain Fire, showing heat detected by a satellite at 2:03 p.m. September 14, 2014, accurate to within a mile or so. (click to enlarge)

The weather forecast for the fire area for Monday calls for warm weather, 87 degrees, a relative humidity in the low 20s, an east wind of 5 mph changing to a 9 mph west wind in the late afternoon, and partly cloudy skies. The 180-degree wind shift could be scary for firefighters. There will be poor humidity recovery Sunday night. Tuesday will be cooler with a higher humidity.

Incredible photo from John Luerding of the fire response to the #OnionMountainFire. pic.twitter.com/VeAw0nz0uK

— NewsWatch 12 (@KDRV) September 14, 2014

Today’s MODIS and radar screenshot showing smoke plumes from the #OnionFire and #HappyCampComplex. #orwx #cawx pic.twitter.com/nPqhCRC10M — NWS Medford (@NWSMedford) September 14, 2014