9.17.17 High Cascades West & East fire Daily Update

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

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

Fire update: Cool, dry weather persists over the Broken Lookout Fire and crews will continue mopping up hotspots, chipping brush, and prepping roads. Contingency lines around the fire are nearing completion and are expected to be finished over the next few work shifts. Several trees in the fire area have been deemed too dangerous to fall with chainsaws. Over the last several days, small teams of Forest Service explosive specialists have been blasting the trees using remotely detonated explosives. Removal of snags is important to allow firefighters to safely work around the fire perimeter.

On the Pup Fire, small burn-out operations took place on the southeastern edge of the fire yesterday. Existing fire lines will continue to be reinforced and small burn-out operations will occur this afternoon with the goal of keeping the Pup Fire confined to the wilderness.

Fire Prevention: As wet weather moves into western Oregon, it’s important to realize that fire danger may still be present. The last significant rain event over the fire area occurred in mid-June and fine fuels like underbrush and leaves are extremely dry. Campfire restrictions still remain in place and the public should contact their local Ranger Station before having a campfire or using a charcoal grill in the forest.

Weather and Air Quality: Today will be the last day of cool and dry weather in the fire area. Winds are expected to blow from the south and southwest this afternoon with gusts up to 15 mph and could increase fire activity, especially in drainages aligned with the wind direction. Wet weather is expected to move in Sunday night, possibly bringing snow to higher elevations. Next week, up to an inch and a half of rain could fall, slowing fire activity. The air around the communities of Union Creek and Prospect remain smoky today, but should clear up as the weather shifts.

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. Forest visitors should familiarize themselves with these closures before venturing into the area. For a complete list of closures, visit https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/closures/5503/

Other restrictions: The Umpqua National Forest has lowered its Industrial Fire Precaution Level (IFPL) to III (partial shutdown). The Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest remains under IFPL IV (general shutdown). For a complete description of IFPLs, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/rogue-siskiyou/fire/?cid=fseprd545253

Incident Summary

Approximate Size: Broken Lookout 18,781 acres Pup 7,524 acres Total High Cascades: 63, 216

Fire Containment: Broken Lookout 24% Pup 10%

Incident Commander: Shawn Sheldon

Resources on the fire: Crews: 13; Helicopters: 4; Engines: 19 ; Water Tenders: 9;  Heavy Equipment: 8; Total Personnel: 844 ; W. Zone: 649

Jurisdiction: Rogue River-Siskiyou NF, Umpqua NF

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

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RRSNF

Oregon Smoke Blog http://oregonsmoke.blogspot.com/

Southwest Oregon Joint Information Center: http://swojic.blogspot.com/

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

 Location: High Cascades Ranger District, Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, Klamath Ranger District, Fremont-Winema National Forest, Crater Lake National Park

Start Date: North Pelican August 10, 2017, Spruce Lake July 29, 2017, Blanket Creek July 26, 2017 Cause: Lightning

Size: 52,737 Acres 

Percent Contained: 16% (% encompasses total of both East and West zone of the complex excluding Spruce Lake fire from the Complex)

Vegetation: timber, brush, heavy logging slash 

Resources Assigned: 326

Incident Commander: Steve Millert/Dave Gesser with the Southwest Area Type 2 Incident Management Team 3

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. More road and trail closures may go into effect as the fires progress. For specific closure information, visit https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5503.

The North Entrance Road to Crater Lake National Park is open and will remain open. West Rim Drive will be open until 9:00 pm tonight. All concession facilities and services remain open for visitors to the Park. Motorists and visitors to the area also need to be aware of delays on Highway 230 between Union Creek and the junction with Highway 138 due to road construction.

Summary: The Southwest Area Incident Management Team #3 will transition with the Great Basin Incident Management Team #4 today. The High Cascades Complex East Zone includes the Spruce Lake, Blanket Creek, and North Pelican fires. A dry cold front has moved into the area bringing winds out of the west, southwest that will have gusts to about 25 miles per hour by this afternoon.

Spruce Lake Fire (15,826 acres and 22% contained) Aerial observations were done yesterday. No movement was detected and no growth is expected with the cooler and wetter weather moving into the fire area. Blanket Creek Fire (33,322 acres and 21% contained) Crews continue to hold and strengthen containment lines to the north and east. There was fire activity along the southwest side as it moved through the old Middle Fork burn. North Pelican (3,589 acres and 73% contained) Heavy equipment and crews continued construction of contingency lines. Fire behavior today was quiet with not much movement.

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.

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.

For further information please visit the following links:

Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/55 03

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RRSNF

Joint Information Center: https://swojic.blogspot.com/

Oregon Smoke Blog: http://oregonsmoke.blogspot.com/