8-31-17 High Cascades Daily Fire Update

For a downloadable, emailable PDF of this update, click here.

Fire Information: (541) 316-8352

blanketcreekfireinfo@gmail.com

The Rogue-River Siskiyou National Forest has expanded the area closure west of Hwy 62 and 230 around the Broken Lookout, Windy Gap, Paradise and Pup fires. The area generally runs from Woodruff Bridge on the south to the Rogue River-Siskiyou and Umpqua National Forest boundary on the north. The new Closure also closes all OHV trails on the High Cascades Ranger District. For specific information visit: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5503. Closures are enacted for public and firefighter safety.

There will be a community meeting at the amphitheater in Union Creek Campground on Friday, September 1 at 6 p.m.  Fire managers and agency officials will discuss the status of the fires and planned operations.

A Level 1 Evacuation Notification was issued yesterday for the Union Creek area by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office due to fire activity from the Broken Lookout Fire.  A Level 1 Evacuation Notification remains in effect for Mazama Village in Crater Lake National Park. Level 1 is the first step in the “Be Ready, Be Set, Go!” system.  For more information about evacuation levels and procedures, go to http://tinyurl.com/BeReady-BeSet-Go.

Yesterday’s Activity

Fire expansion on the complex slowed yesterday.  Blanket Creek Fire grew 331 acres (12,226 ac.) to the southeast and hand crews have nearly completed the work along Hwy 62.  The Spruce Lake Fire grew 65 acres (6,740 ac.), mainly from tactical burning to tie the fire to the east flank containment line.  Burnout operations around Hershberger Lookout successfully protected the structures and radio repeaters from the Pup Fire (1,410 ac.).  Crews continued to prepare the southern containment line for Broken Lookout (4,435 ac.) and Windy Gap (612 ac.) fires along Forest Road 68.  On the eastern side of Broken Lookout, crews completed 2 miles of prep work along FR 6510 which is located between the fire and the Union Creek community.  The western portion of the fire line for the Paradise Fire (789 acres) held in place.  Helicopters checked fires’ spread with water bucket drops.

Today’s Planned Activity 

Two spike camps are being set up to reduce driving distances and increase work productivity.  One is at the Woodruff OHV Play Area on the Rogue River-Siskiyou NF and the other is 2 miles south of Fort Klamath at the rodeo grounds.  Crews are preparing indirect containment lines on the northeast flank of the Blanket Creek Fire, along FRs 390 and Hwy 62.  Firefighters are also looking for opportunities to reduce fire’s footprint and burn along FR 3282.  On the Spruce Fire, crews plan more tactical burning near the Red Cone area and will be mopping up along their indirect fire line.  At Union Creek, firefighters will continue to prepare the area from the advancing Broken Lookout Fire. Indirect line construction associated with the Broken Lookout and Windy Gap Fires will also continue along FRs 68 and 6510.  Firefighters will also look for opportunities near Windy Gap to burnout along FR 68. On the Paradise Fire, crews will continue their holding and mopping up efforts on existing containment lines.
 
Weather and Fire Behavior

There is a Red Flag Warning from 8 p.m. tonight until 9 a.m. on Friday at higher elevations due to low relative humidity and strong east winds.  Today will transition back to a hot and dry pattern.  Upper elevations will see poor overnight humidity recovery.  The dry NE winds today may lead to very active fire behavior.  A rapid build-up of heat resulting in increased torching and spotting could result in increased activity along fire edges and within interior islands and ragged burn edges.

Smoke Outlook

A full smoke forecast can be viewed at: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5503.  To see visibility at Crater Lake National Park, check out the webcams at https://www.nps.gov/crla/learn/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm. Crater Lake National Park West Rim Drive remains closed from Sunday night to Friday afternoon for road construction.  Motorists and visitors also need to be aware of delays on Hwy 230 between Union Creek and the junction with Hwy 138 due to road construction.  There are also delays on Hwy 62 east of Mazama Village on the road to Fort Klamath due to firefighting efforts.

Closure Information

As a result of the fires in the High Cascades Complex, a number of area, road and trail closures are in place within Crater Lake National Park, Rogue-River Siskiyou, Umpqua, and Fremont-Winema National Forests.  For specific closure information, visit https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5503. Closures are enacted for public and firefighter safety.

For a downloadable, emailable PDF of this map, click here.

Fires at a Glance

Approximate Size: 26,332 acres

Fire Containment: 37%

Incident Commander: Eric Knerr

Resources

Crews: 14

Helicopters: 7

Engines: 22

Water Tenders: 12

Dozers: 2

Total Personnel: 624

Social Media Resources

Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5503

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/R6RRSNF/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RRSNF  #HighCascadesComplex