Local News

With record-breaking heat and increasingly dry conditions, federal agencies are prohibiting campfire use on lands located with the boundaries of the National Wild and Scenic Rogue River. The Wild section of the Rogue flows from Grave Creek to the mouth of Watson Creek. Effective immediately, Stage 2 fire restrictions are in effect and building, maintaining, attending or use of a fire is not permitted. Commercially-produced pressurized liquid or gas stoves are allowed. Cooking areas are to be naturally free of vegetation. Each group in the wild section must have a shovel and a bucket. Smoking is only permitted while on watercraft on waterways, or on vegetation-free sand and gravel bars located between the river and the high water mark. The Medford BLM District administers the stretch of river between Grave Creek and Marial where the Oregon Department of Forestry provides primary attack for fire management. The Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest manages from Marial downriver to the mouth of Watson Creek. Additional fire restrictions will be put in place as fire season progresses and they will remain in effect through November 30th, unless conditions allow them to be reduced or rescinded sooner.

 

Grants Pass Police apprehended a man wanted on a statewide felony warrant at a downtown resting site this week. The Police Department reports officers arrested 41-year-old Bobby Joe Swearingen at the NE 7th Street homeless encampment on Wednesday morning. Police said they spotted Swearingen during a patrol check and were aware that he was wanted on an Oregon State warrant for Parole Violation stemming from a 2022 conviction for Unlawful Use of a Weapon. According to the report, Swearingen tried to run away from officers and briefly scuffled with them before he was placed into custody. He sustained some scrapes during the incident, but refused medical attention. Swearingen was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant plus a new charge of Attempted Escape. He was being held on a no-bail detainer. He was also trespassed from the resting site for 30 days.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for his boorish behavior near City Hall and the Josephine County Courthouse. The Police Department reports officers were alerted to the incident involving 39-year-old Matthew Richard Williams near the corner of 6th and A streets late Wednesday afternoon. Police said they arrested Williams due to his aggressive and tumultuous behavior in public. Witnesses reported that he was screaming and mentioning guns, but he was not armed when officers placed him into custody in front of the Anne Basker Auditorium. According to the report, Williams had been warned by police for his outlandish conduct earlier in the day -- but he "persisted in causing alarm to the good citizens of Grants Pass." City officials said utility customers were afraid to walk by him. Williams was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Disorderly Conduct and he was being held without bail.

 

A Grants Pass motorist with a felony suspended license made the mistake of cutting off a police patrol vehicle in the north part of the city. According to the Police Department, officers arrested 55-year-old Jonathan Ray Grijalba for the incident that occurred at Li'l Pantry Market & Deli on NW Vine Street on Wednesday morning. Police said Grijalba pulled out in front of a patrol vehicle while failing to yield while entering the roadway. They said the suspect was pulled over in the nearby McDonald's parking lot and he was found to be driving with a suspended license. Grijalba's license was suspended at the felony level and he had no emergent reason to be driving, so he was placed into custody. Grijalba was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Aggravated Driving While Suspended and his vehicle was impounded.

 

The Oregon State Police is investigating the theft of thousands of dollars' worth of powerline construction equipment in the southern Illinois Valley. According to OSP, troopers were contacted by a company contracted to build powerline poles between O'Brien and Cave Junction on Wednesday. The contractor reported the theft of approximately 5,500 feet of line rope as well as a chain hoist and cable grip. The theft occurred overnight Tuesday. Due to the nature of the stolen rope and other tools, the estimated cost is in excess of $10,000. Anyone with information on this incident is encouraged to dial *OSP.

 

The Illinois Valley Fire District and Oregon Department of Forestry got some help in knocking down a small grass fire near O'Brien this week. IVFD and ODF crews were dispatched to the reported fire on Redwood Highway at Lone Mountain Road late Wednesday afternoon. IVFD officials said the fire was brought under control within a few minutes of their arrival. They said several bystanders offered assistance with hoses in putting out the flames. Officials said the cause of the fire was under investigation.

 

Oregon Department of Forestry Incident Management Team 3 assumed command of the Grizzly Complex -- consisting of 24 lightning fires -- yesterday along with the Neil Creek Road Fire that is not part of the complex. The ODF Southwest District continues suppression efforts on additional fires sparked by lightning on Monday. As of last night, more than 1,300 personnel were assigned to the fires, with many more on the way. These additional crews and resources continue to arrive to provide relief to existing district personnel, allowing them to continue work on other fires and be ready to respond to potential new fire starts. Significant progress was made on numerous fires with continued aggressive, direct suppression efforts. The Neil Creek Road Fire south of Ashland was holding at 250 acres as crews completed dozer line on the south end of the fire and continued to build direct lines elsewhere around the fire's perimeter. A Level 2 "Be Set" evacuation notice remains in place for area residents and one lane of Interstate 5 in both directions is still closed between mileposts 8.5 and 10.5. The Deming Gulch Fire northeast of Buncom is currently estimated to be 250 acres while the Heppsie Mountain Fire near Lake Creek was holding at 40 acres in size. The North Fork Deer Creek Fire in the hills east of Selma was holding at 42 acres, the Jim Me Peak Fire south of Applegate was last reported to be 70 acres and the Palmer Peak Fire near Applegate was 90 acres. No acreage estimate was provided for the Holcomb Peak Fire southwest of Williams. Other small fires are staffed.

 

Residents in Southern Oregon and Northern California are being warned to brace for extreme heat over the next several days. The National Weather Service has posted an Extreme Heat Warning for the region starting Saturday afternoon and running at least through Monday evening, probably longer. The NWS advisory includes Jackson, Josephine and eastern Curry counties in Oregon along with Siskiyou County, California. Dangerously hot conditions with high temperatures of 100 to 105 are expected. Low temperatures will be mainly in the mid- to upper-60s. Heat-related illnesses increase significantly during extreme heat and high humidity events such as this one. Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors -- especially the elderly. Never leave children or pets unattended in a vehicle during extreme heat. This heat wave may extend into Tuesday and Wednesday. Monitor the latest forecasts for weather updates.

 

Next Thursday at 10 a.m., the City of Grants Pass will break ground on its replacement water treatment plant on SE J Street. It's a significant step on the journey of securing reliable drinking water for decades to come. The journey for the new Grants Pass Water Treatment Plant began in 2011 when the City discovered a structural failure in the clear well of the current plant on SE M Street, which was built in the 1930s. In 2012, the City began the process of determining how to address the issues of the aging plant. After researching the options to either repair or replace the water plant, the Grants Pass City Council in 2014 chose to replace it. In 2020, the City completed the property acquisition for the new plant. Future plans call for a metal building to be installed in 2026, subsystem functional testing in 2027 and achieving substantial project completion in 2028.