Sunday, September 24, 2017


9-24-17 High Cascades Complex West Fire Daily Update


Today is a day of transition. Northwest Team 6, which moved into the camp at Stewart State Park two weeks ago, will be working with incoming Northwest Team 8 throughout the day to familiarize them with the local terrain and fire conditions and to introduce them to the tasks that have been accomplished and those remaining to be completed.

On the east side of the Pup Fire, engine crews are extinguishing any remnant heat from the most recent burnout operation along the road which serves as the fire break. Despite drier conditions, there has been no noticeable increase in fire activity on any part of the Pup or Broken Lookout Fires.
Heavy equipment continues to clear the road approaching the Rocky Ridge Shelter at the north end of the Pup Fire. The shelter remains wrapped and well protected as the road work creates a greater barrier to fire expansion. Further down the road, crews are working to cut and chip vegetation that has encroached on the roadway.

Chipping and “storage” of woody debris until arrival of a more efficient chipper – a “tub grinder” – are underway along the eastern edge of the Broken Lookout Fire.

In the Huckleberry Gap area, along the 700 and 800 roads, hand crews continue to prune away ladder fuels and remove brush and snags in order to establish a future anchor point for burning out or holding against oncoming flames.

As NW Incident Management Team #6 transitions to NW Team #8, it’s interesting to consider the important people and entities that make the fire effort possible. During the last two weeks, Four Stars Catering from Santa Fe Springs, CA has fed approximately 700 firefighters every day with a catering staff of 23 persons, mostly from southern California. Some of the staff get up as early as 2 AM to start making breakfast before crews head out to the line. The catering company also supports the film industry, and has worked on the film sets of Grease, the Mission Impossible movies, and many others.

As the drying and warming trend continues, temperatures today are expected to reach the low 70s, and winds will be light from the north-northeast. Relative humidity will drop slightly to the low 40s.

Closures: Many road, trail, and area closures are in place for the Rogue Umpqua Divide Wilderness and surrounding lands on both the Umpqua and Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forests. Also, with changing weather, various restrictions have been removed or relaxed. Forest visitors should familiarize themselves with these changes before venturing into the area. For information about closures and restrictions visithttps://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/closures/5503/ or your local Forest office.










9-24-17 High Cascades Complex East Fire Daily Update




Summary: Suppression repair for the High Cascades Complex East Zone picked up substantially with the warmer and drier weather. Firefighters removed over 20,000 feet of hose within the Blanket Creek and North Pelican Fires. Removal of additional water pumps and hoses will continue over the next few days.

On September 22, the East Zone flew an infrared mapping of the complex, which showed very few pockets of heat. The majority of heat signatures were scattered well within the interior of the three fires. Current weather forecast and an analysis completed by the incident’s fire behavior analyst does not suggest any significant fire spread in the East Zone in the coming week.

The management team continues to assess the situation and employ the right tools to complete needed suppression repair work. Equipment and crews best suited for the job will continue to work on repair. Handcrews will be used to repair handline and clean blocked culverts impacted by the fires, mitigating future erosion and water issues.

Improved weather conditions allowed for increased air operations. Helicopters logged a combined 5.4 hours of flight time and ferried 58 passengers and 4,200 pounds of cargo, largely to the Spruce Lake Fire.

A community briefing in Rocky Point was attended by 20 people and focused largely on area closures and firewood availability as a result of the suppression operation.

Similar repair work reported yesterday will continue on the North Pelican, Blanket Creek and Spruce Lake Fires. Acreage and containment remains unchanged. North Pelican (3,589 acres, 73% contained), Blanket Creek (33,322 acres, 23% contained) and Spruce Lake (15,826 acres and 22% contained).

Closures: Although modified, some area and road closures remain in place. South of the Middle Fork of the Rogue River and the South Fork 3703 trail closures have been lifted. Current closure information is available online at: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5503. West Rim Drive in Crater Lake National Park remained closed for plowing and inspection after last week’s snowy weather.

The Rim Visitor Center will close for the season today. The Mazama Cabins, Campground and Annie Creek Restaurant and Gift Shop will close at noon on Monday Sept. 25. Motorists and visitors to the area need to be aware of delays on Highway 230 between Union Creek and the junction with Highway 138 due to road construction.






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