9-05-17 High Cascades Daily Fire Update

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

Fire Information: (541) 316-8352

blanketcreekfireinfo@gmail.com

The North Entrance Road to Crater Lake National Park is now closed until further notice due to a potential threat from the Spruce Lake Fire.  West Rim Drive re-closed yesterday for road construction and visitor safety until 4 p.m. on Friday.  All concession operations remain operational for visitors to the Park. Motorists and visitors to the area also need to be aware of delays on Hwy 230 between Union Creek and the junction with Hwy 138 due to road construction.

Yesterday’s Activity:  The unstable atmosphere, coupled with unseasonably hot and dry conditions created convection columns and associated extreme fire behavior Monday on Paradise/Broken Lookout/Windy Gap, Spruce Lake and Blanket Creek Fires. Paradise, Broken Lookout, and Windy Gap Fires (7,500 ac) have grown together and will now be called the Broken Lookout Fire. Crews made good progress to strengthen the established containment lines on FR 6510, 6510-700, and 6520 to the east. This fire showed little movement to the east towards Union Creek. Firefighters continued prepping and tying FR 2947 and 2947-300 north to the Rogue Umpqua Divide Wilderness to secure the north-northeast flank. The Pup Fire (1,800 ac) moved further into Foster Creek and fire managers continued to evaluate the best options for its containment. The Spruce Lake Fire (7, 300 ac) moved north of and onto Red Cone late Monday. Crews made good progress prepping along the west side of the North Entrance Road, now the primary containment line on the northeast flank. The Blanket Creek Fire (21,400 ac) expanded to the south and east but largely away from Mazama Village and further into the Sky Lakes Wilderness and the Middle Fork Fire scar from 2008.  Helicopter bucket drops supported fire crews in burnout on the Blanket Creek Fire along FR 3282 on the east and other FRs on the southeast flank as they worked to achieve containment. Fire crews made good progress on constructing an indirect line from FR 3282 to Hwy 62 north of Annie Creek Snopark. Air operations set-up a helicopter fueling station near Fort Klamath and a heli-dip tank at Annie Creek Snopark. These new options will greatly enhance the overall efficiency of air support.

Today’s Planned Activity:  Crews on the Broken Lookout Fire will continue to strengthen the established containment lines on FR 6510, 6510-700, and 6520 to the east.  Firefighters will also be prepping FR 2925 on the west perimeter of the fire on the Umpqua National Forest side of the divide and on FR 2947 on the northwest perimeter along Jackson Creek. Firefighters will monitor the Pup Fire and do point protection on the Hershberger Lookout and the adjacent telecommunication site. On the Spruce Lake Fire firefighters will continue prepping and begin chipping along the west side of the North Entrance Road in Crater Lake National Park. Fire managers will also further evaluate reopening handlines used on the 2015 National Creek Complex for containment. Fire crews plan to complete the burnout along containment lines on the south-southeast perimeter of the Blanket Creek Fire if conditions allow and patrol the west perimeter to insure that the fire stays in place along this flank. Crews may finish constructing an indirect line from FR 3282 to Hwy 62 north of Annie Creek Snopark.

A Level 1 Evacuation Notification remains in effect for the Union Creek area in Jackson County Oregon, due to fire activity from the Broken Lookout Fire.  In addition, 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.
 Weather and Fire Behavior: Hot, dry and very unstable conditions persist today. Early dry SE ridgetop winds will shift to a NNW flow in the afternoon on Spruce Lake and Blanket Creek Fires and shift to a SW-W flow on Broken Lookout and Pup Fires. Potential afternoon isolated thunderstorms could produce erratic outflow winds. These conditions may contribute to periods of very active fire behavior especially on ridge tops and exposed areas and where continuous forest fuels line up with slope and winds. Rapid heat build-up could result in group torching, crown runs, and spotting. An increasing chance of afternoon/evening thunderstorms is forecast for Wednesday into Thursday.

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.

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. 

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

High Cascades Public Information Map showing fire perimeter and closure areas

Fires at a Glance

Approximate Size: 38,000 acres
Fire Containment: 20%
Incident Commander: Eric Knerr
Resources
Crews: 14
Helicopters: 6
Engines: 25
Water Tenders: 16
Dozers: 2
Total Personnel: 617

Social Media Resources

Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5503
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/R6RRSNF/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RRSNF #HighCascadesComplex