Evacuation levels have been increased to Level 2 for communities near the Upper Applegate Fire

Crews continued to battle the Upper Applegate Fire on Saturday, but both areas bordering the fire were widened to just below mandatory evacuations.

Level 2 areas include:

JAC-434: Eastside Rd, south of Little Applegate Rd, to north of McKee Bridge, rural Jacksonville.

JAC-436: Little Applegate Rd, west of Upper Applegate Rd, and eastern portions of Sterling Creek Rd., rural Jacksonville.

The fire has grown to 623 acres, according to emergency alert sources. More than 200 people are battling the fire, including air tankers, helicopters, tree fellers and two Oregon State Fire Marshal task forces.

According to the Oregon Department of Forestry, the fire is burning in extremely steep terrain in an area that has been impacted by large-scale loss of drought-stressed Douglas fir trees.

“The terrain on this fire posed numerous safety concerns, from the steep slope to dangerous falling trees and rocks. While tactics remain aggressive to fully contain this fire, the safety of those working on the fire incident is also a top priority.” reads a description from the ODF Facebook page.

Emergency alert registration information for this fire and the rest of Jackson County can be found here.