09-08-17 Chetco Bar Daily Update Curry and Josephine Counties

09-08-17 West Chetco Bar Fire Update

Weather and Fire Behavior: Yesterday’s weather pattern continues into late morning today. Where it occurred, rainfall and high humidity levels greatly reduced fire activity and growth yesterday and overnight. Smoldering and slow burning continued beneath the forest canopy.
Larger vegetation remains dry though, and as temperatures rise and humidity levels drop again over the next 72 hours, fire activity will pick up. Areas where little activity occurred yesterday may hide burning roots that, when winds increase and humidity levels drop, will spread to nearby receptive fine fuels like grasses, leaves and small twigs.

Yesterday: Poor visibility associated with the weather prevented aircraft (including last night’s scheduled infrared flight) from operating. Firefighters on the northwest fire perimeter were successful in getting containment lines around about 75% of the spot fires caused by the winds a few days prior.
With the weather reducing the intensity of the fire, crews working on the western perimeter were able to move in closer to the fire’s edge and build more direct containment lines. On the southwest edge, operations continued to hold and improve firelines while at the same time deploying more hose lines to be used in securing those lines. The north side was able to connect and tie in to lines in Josephine County to the east. Scouting and constructing firelines to the south into California continues. The recent rain and high humidity levels delayed implementing strategic burning operations that would consume fuel between the main fire and containment lines; adding depth and strengthening existing lines.

Today: Moderated weather is allowing for further strengthening of containment lines as well as opportunities to move in closer to the fire perimeter, thereby reducing potential impacts to nearby private lands. Firefighters will continue to remove brush and vegetation along containment and contingency lines, and ensure that hoselays are in place and functioning properly. Ongoing efforts include patrols for spot fires, extinguishing areas of heat within spot fires, fireline construction and, where containment lines have been secured by mop-up, fireline repair work (re-contouring lines to mitigate water runoff).

North of the fire at the confluence of the Illinois and Rogue rivers, structure assessment and preparation continues in the community of Agnes.

Air resources remain poised to respond as conditions change.

Oregon State Fire Marshal resources have completed their assigned tasks but are ready to return to the area should the need arise. As humidity levels begin to drop and temperatures begin to rise, vegetation will dry out over the next 24 to 48 hours. Hazards faced by firefighters in the current conditions include: access to wet areas with steep slopes with dirt roads and trees, weakened by fire, are more susceptible to falling as wet soils loosen their hold on root systems.

Evacuations: Evacuations remain in Curry and Josephine County and will be evaluated daily. Residents are encouraged to monitor the interactive evacuation map for changes: http://arcg.is/2vWQN2N

Shelters: The Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation is operating a shelter at the Xaa-wan’-k’wvt Village & Resort (old Ship Ashore) RV Park located at 12370 Highway 101 North in Smith River.

Closures: Several large wildfires are burning in southwest Oregon. Area closures have been implemented on the Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest and BLM lands. Fire restrictions are in place: http://bit.ly/2erUN5B.

   

09-08-17 East Chetco Bar Fire Update

Yesterday: Thursday was wet across much of the Chetco East Zone Fire. After numerous, sometimes intense, showers, some places had received ¼ to ½ inch of precipitation. Some sites even received a full inch of rain. “Will this help the fires?” was a frequent, hopeful question voiced by community members. “Every bit of rain helps,” said Operations Section Chief Pat Halford. “It temporarily raises the humidity, dampens the fuels, reduces fire activity and slows fire growth.” However, the rains were not evenly distributed and, especially in thick brush and under a forest canopy and large dead logs, the rain didn’t penetrate or wasn’t sufficient to make a difference. The fine fuels will dry out quickly as weather begins to warm again. Firefighters will be taking advantage of this respite to continue their work. They will be attentive to the locations where more active fire potential still exists and the time it will return. Weather will dry out, heat up, and become more windy from Saturday to Monday.
Unfortunately, lightning associated with the rain diverted some of the firefighting equipment and resources to high priority initial attack work. For example, three new fires on the Wild Rivers Ranger District required suppression. Two were controlled at 1/10 acre, but the third (2 acres) was lined and will continue to be worked today. We can’t control lightning, but everyone should continue to be careful with fire and their vehicles in order to prevent new fires from starting.

Today: Today’s work includes finishing almost all the structure protection planned along the Illinois River Road’s Level 3 “Go!” Evacuation Notification corridor. The roof at the Store Gulch Guard Station became too slippery for firefighters applying the last pieces of protective foil fabric, so that work remains. The communication sites at Eight Dollar Mountain and Fiddler Mountain will be further assessed for their protection needs today.
Biscuit Fire containment dozer lines from the California border to Squaw Mountain (about 4 ½ miles west of Hayes Hill) have almost fully received at least one pass of a dozer, which is being followed by fallers removing snags and five 20-person hand crews brushing and cleaning remaining flammable materials away. There’s a rocky area above the headwaters of Parker Creek that will be evaluated to see whether it’s adequately prepared to block fire. As these projects are completed, containment line re-opening work will be extended to the North.
As containment lines are completed and fire behavior moderates, more direct fireline routes will be sought, from safe anchor points, closer to the areas that are currently burning.
Fire Size: The entire Chetco Bar Fire is about 177,301 acres. No infrared flight was completed last night, but the fire was not actively spreading. It is approximately 8 miles from private land outside the National Forest boundary and communities in Josephine County, east of the fire.

Smoke: Heavy smoke has affected many parts of Josephine County for many days. The rain removed some of the particulates, improving smoke levels one to two categories, such as from “unhealthy” to “unhealthy for sensitive groups” or even to “moderate.” Today’s smoke level in Grants Pass is forecast as “moderate” indicating that people with asthma, respiratory infection, diabetes, lung or heart disease, or have had a stroke should limit outdoor activities or do activities that take less effort, such as walking instead of running. Public information about forest fires and smoke conditions is available at http://oregonsmoke.blogspot.com.

Closures and Restrictions: Many areas and activities are closed or restricted due to current and expected fire activity and hazard. More details are available on https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/closures/5385/ 
The BLM has closed its trailhead at Eight Dollar Mountain.
In Josephine County, a Level 1 “Ready” Evacuation Notification affects private and BLM land on the west side of Hwy 199 from Hayes Hill to the California border. This action is intended to raise awareness of fire in the vicinity and get people thinking about necessary steps they would take if asked to evacuate. About ten miles along the Illinois River Road from the National Forest boundary located two miles west of Selma to Oak Flat is under Level 3 “Go” Evacuation Notification. Residents were advised to leave this area and it is closed to everyone except firefighting personnel. People can view maps of the current Evacuation Notification areas at http://arcg.is/2vWQ2N. By typing their address into the dark blue line, they can see where their home is located in relation to the current Evacuation warnings.

Community Meeting: There is a Community Meeting planned for Sunday, September 10 at 6:00 pm at the Cave Junction High School. People are encouraged to attend to receive an update on fire activity and to talk to fire managers about their strategies and effort.

Fire at a Glance:
Size: 177,301 acres
Started: July 12, 2017 by Lightning
Containment: 5%
Resources:  Helicopters shared across the Chetco Bar Fire: 2 Type 3; 2 Type 2; 1 Type 1; 3 National Guard Type 1
Ground resources on the Chetco East Zone: 5 Type 2 crews; 5 Engines; 6 Fallers; 5 Dozers; 1 Water Tender; 1 Masticator; 1 Skidder