The huge Chetco Bar Fire, now at more than 200 square miles, has moved far enough east to prompt the closure of the popular Illinois River recreation corridor west of Selma.

The fire isn’t racing, but in recent days has been moving east, by spurts. In some cases — west of Kerby — the movement over the last week can be measured in miles.

On the north side of the fire, flames have reached nearly to the banks of remote areas of the winding Illinois River, while to the east, the fire has moved to within about three miles of the river’s recreation area, popular for swimming, hiking and camping.

The fire’s eastern boundary is about 10 miles west of Selma and Kerby. A community meeting about the fire is set for 7 p.m. Sunday at Illinois Valley High School, 625 East River St. in Cave Junction.

Josephine County Sheriff’s Office deputies on Saturday shoed visitors away from the recreation area. The U.S. Forest Service is closing Illinois River Road at the forest boundary, about two miles west of Selma, according to county Search and Rescue Coordinator Cory Krauss.

Areas affected by the closure include Sixmile, Store Gulch and McCaleb Ranch. Residents of the sparsely populated Oak Flat area were advised to be readly to leave. Oak Flat is along the river, northwest of Selma.

“It’s an extreme fire day,” Chetco Bar Fire spokesman Chris Papen said Saturday afternoon. “What we don’t have is the winds. What we do have is the heat.”

Humidity is very low, he said.

“We’ve got good weather for burning.”

Papen said the fire at times was burning quickly uphill through an area of many peaks and ridges.

“It makes runs uphill,” he said.

Light winds out of the west and northwest are predicted for Sunday.

Papen said the fire's northeast flank was moving, mainly toward the Illinois Valley.

“That’s where we’re looking out ahead,” he said. “Over the next several days, we’ll be watching closely.”

Flames are burning through areas previously burned by the 2002 Biscuit Fire. Fire lines created to halt the Biscuit Fire’s eastward progress are now being restored, according to Oregon Department of Forestry spokeswoman Melissa Cano. Crews have done initial scouting and preparation work on the fire’s east side, and additional crews are expected to move there, Cano said.

“We’re going to send in more people.”

Krauss wasn’t exactly sure why the Forest Service was closing Illinois River Road, other than that it was due to the fire. The road is a dead end, so it’s possible someone could become trapped.

Cano said closures allow fire trucks and traffic to work unimpeded. And closures keep gawkers away.

The Chetco Bar Fire, believed to have been caused by lightning, initially was reported July 12 and eventually spread west to within about seven miles of Brookings, on the Oregon coast. At 143,000 acres, it’s still not even a third the size of the nearly 500,000-acre Biscuit Fire.

On Saturday, the fire was listed as 10 percent contained, with an estimated containment date of Oct. 15.

Fire behavior through Monday evening is expected to be very active to extreme, with torching and crowning runs and spotting more than a quarter-mile ahead of the main fire. Plumes of smoke to 10,000 feet appeared Saturday.

For more information, call (541) 469-1177 or search Facebook for the “Chetco Bar Fire” official fire page. To view detailed fire information and a detailed map of the fire’s boundaries, go to inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5385.

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Reach reporter Shaun Hall at 541-474-3722 or shall@thedailycourier.com.