09-10-17 Fire Updates

09-10-17 Chetco Bar Fire Update Curry and Josephine Counties

09-10-17 West (Curry) Chetco Bar Fire Update

Update: Providing for public and firefighter safety is the incident management team’s top priority.
A warm and dry weather pattern will affect the fire area on Sunday and Monday. This weather pattern is expected to bring higher than average temperatures on Sunday and Monday, along with low relative humidities and NE winds. This weather pattern has the potential to result in increased fire behavior. Fire managers are committed to aggressive operations that provide for community well being while ensuring the safety of personnel.

Crews will continue to construct direct handline and remove brush from contingency firelines. Firefighters will have a better opportunity to seek out and extinguish burning material close to the line, as problem areas will be readily identifiable and residual moisture will allow for more efficient mop-up operations. Along the west side, the main objective will be patrolling for spot fires and continuing mop-up of existing heat sources. To the north, crews are re-establishing some of the firelines created during the 2002 Biscuit Fire, in preparation for possible strategic burning operations.
Air operations are focused on supporting ground resources on both sides of the fire with available aircraft and personnel. Reconnaissance flights and infrared mapping missions are also being conducted.

Moderate smoke impacts are expected in communities surrounding the fire. The majority of impacts will be on the southern portions, as winds from the northeast will drift smoke from the fire over Brookings-Harbor and NW California. These areas could see heavy smoke at times late in the day. Areas north of the fire such as Gold Beach and Agness will see good to moderate smoke conditions. Level 3 evacuation orders for areas outside the fire perimeter were reduced to Level 2 as of Friday at 11 am. Residents are urged to remain prepared to evacuate should the need arise.

Weather: Sunday and Monday will bring a warming and drying trend that may facilitate increased fire behavior. A shallow marine layer on Sunday morning may provide better relative humidity recoveries but will lift by the afternoon and is unlikely to return until later in the week. Humidity will be in the 30% range on Sunday and 20% range on Monday. Poor overnight recoveries are also expected. A sustained NE wind of 8 mph is expected Sunday, with gusts up to 14 mph. Wind speed will increase on Monday, sustained NE at 10 mph, gusting up to 25 mph. After Sunday and Monday, weather is expected to be cooler and wetter.

Closures and Evacuations: Level 1 and Level 2 evacuation orders remain for portions of Brookings-Harbor and the Upper Winchuck areas. Level 3 evacuations remain for areas within the fire perimeter.
See closure order: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd558041.pdf
Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR): There is a TFR over the Chetco Bar Fire. http://tfr.faa.gov/

 09-10-17 East Chetco Bar Fire Update

COMMUNITY MEETING TONIGHT in Cave Junction at the Illinois Valley High School at 6:00 pm. Please attend to receive an update on fire activity and to talk to fire managers about their strategies and effort.

Saturday’s Chetco East Zone Fire activity was mostly smoldering and creeping. Monitoring flights observed minimal open flame and the fire stalled at tops of ridges above cool north-facing slopes and sites with green vegetation. This is due to high relative humidity and fuels retaining moisture from recent storms. The northern parts of the fire have shown more active movement than the eastern flank.

Fire crews have made progress tying together sections of well-established containment lines between the fire and Highway 199, totaling approximately 50 miles of fire line. Work is continuing in steep rocky terrain between Josephine Creek and Parker Creek. Crews identified a potential new contingency line route near the Buckskin Peak Trail. It will be closer to the fire than the Biscuit Fire’s dozer line. Masticating equipment is mowing and chipping vegetation along roads to improve them as fire breaks. Fire protection work has been completed around a communication site at Fiddler Mountain and work on Eight Dollar Mountain will continue today. Initial attack crews from the Wild River Ranger District successfully controlled a fifth hold-over lightning-caused fire that came to life, keeping it to ½ acre.

Today, temperatures are expected to be about 10 degrees higher than yesterday with relative humidity dropping to around 30%. Winds out of the northeast are forecast at 5-15 mph on ridgetops. These conditions along with drying fuels will likely influence more active fire behavior than yesterday, but still relatively quiet.

Today, hand crews will continue work closing small gaps in the fire lines on the eastern flank. Alternate fire line routes continue to be scouted in the Buckskin Peak Trail area. Hand line work will continue between Tennessee Pass and Madison Gulch. Masticator equipment will remove roadside vegetation in the Rough and Ready Flat area and to the south. Dozer lines from the Biscuit Fire will continue to be reopened pushing to the north. Initial attack crews will respond to new starts and spot fires and an additional helicopter will be available to the fire. Tonight, a subsidence inversion over the fire area will result in relative humidity dropping overnight. This early dryness could result in higher nighttime fire activity.

Smoke: An air quality alert is in effect for Curry and Josephine counties. For current air quality information and forecasts go to 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/ People can view maps of the current Evacuation Notification areas at http://arcg.is/1LmzPe. By typing their address into the search bar on the upper right, they can see where their home is located in relation to the current Evacuation warnings.

Fire at a Glance:

Size: 184,207 acres

Started: July 12, 2017 by Lightning

Containment: 5%

Assigned 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: 9 Type 2 crews; 9 Engines; 6 Fallers; 6 Dozers; 1 Water Tender; 3 Masticators; 1 Skidder

09-10-17 Chetco Bar Fire Smoke Outlook

Smoke: Smoke impacts today will vary from light to heavy in communities surrounding the Chetco Bar fire. Light Northerly winds will drift smoke generally South and down
drainages into communities such as Brookings-Harbor. A rise in smoke this morning is likely in these coastal communities South of the fire before clearing later in the afternoon. Inland communities, including Cave Junction, will see a slow rise in smoke impacts through the day that may reach Unhealthy at times by the afternoon/evening. Areas North and West of the fire, such as Gold Beach and Agness, are expected to see Good/Moderate conditions and
possible haze overhead. With warmer and drier weather developing this weekend, smoke impacts are likely to slowly increase with a forecast increase in fire activity.