Illinois Valley Fire District: residents near Cave Junction are safe from Slater Fire, but should be aware

JOSEPHINE COUNTY, Ore. — The Slater Fire has burned 131,000 acres across Oregon and California.

The Illinois Valley Fire District says the Oregon side of the fire isn’t a large threat to towns like Cave Junction – yet.

The U.S. Forest Service says the fire is burning north of Highway 199 with firefighting resources “beefing up” fire lines.

Illinois Valley Fire District says they’ve received many calls from residents in the Wilderville, Wonder, Selma and Cave Junction worrying about evacuations.

“They feel that it’s immanent and the truth of the matter is that they’re quite a ways away, Williams and Applegate, too. So those people should be cautious, and they should be watching the news, but they should not be scared,” said public information officer with Illinois Valley Fire District, Jes Webb.

Webb says firefighters are focused on the Takilma-O’Brien area.

He recommends Josephine County residents sign up for citizen alerts through the county.

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NBC5 News reporter Mariah Mills is a Medford native. She graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor's Degree in journalism. She also minored in sociology. In school, she covered Oregon athletics for the student-run television station, Duck TV. When she's not reporting, she’s reading, hiking and rooting for her favorite teams, the Seattle Seahawks and the Oregon Ducks.
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