According to a late Wednesday evening statement from the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office, the Slater Fire started during the evening hours of September 7th, near Slater Butte Fire Lookout on the Klamath National Forest.
As of the late Wednesday evening update, the wind driven blaze had grown to over 30,000 plus acres and approximately 150 homes have been lost in the Happy Camp, California area.
On Wednesday, September 9th, one fatality was confirmed in the burn area near Happy Camp, California. The positive identification of the deceased person is pending further investigation.
Early Wednesday morning the fire had pushed north into Josephine County prompting the closure of US Highway 199 is closed from the Highway 197 junction near Crescent City to the Illinois Valley Airport.
Cave Junction will remain as Level 2 and all Level 3 evacuations including the Obrian, Takilma and Gasquet areas remain in place unless otherwise noted.
Reports of the Bug Station on Hwy. 199 and the rest area at the Collier Tunnel have been reported by authorities to be false.
