9-21-17 High Cascades Complex West & East Fire Daily Update

9-21-17 High Cascades Complex West Fire Daily Update

The rain continued to fall on the Broken Lookout and Pup Fires yesterday. Overall, the Broken Lookout Fire received about 1.8 inches of rain and the Pup Fire, which is slightly higher in elevation, received approximately 2.25 inches. Even though snow levels dropped to as low as 5,300 feet, no snow fell on the fire area. More rain showers are expected today, but rainfall amounts will most likely be less than 1/10th inch. A warming trend is predicted to begin Friday which could bring dry weather for up to ten days.

While the change in weather has reduced fire activity in exposed fuels, heat that lies beneath the ground may still hold potential for increased fire activity. With the recent low temperatures and high precipitation amounts, it is possible that fire behavior will remain muted in spite of the drying trend. To remain on the safe side, however, firefighters are proceeding with their work, preparing roads as fire breaks if needed. Despite diminished fire activity and the current wet conditions, there is still a lot of work to do in the field and fire traffic will remain in the area.

Helicopters will continue to support ground suppression forces to monitor any possible fire spread as conditions dry out into the weekend. Crews will continue prepping roads with mastication and chipping, as well as mopping up completed burn out operations and falling hazardous snags that pose threats to the safety of firefighters. Forest engineers have evaluated road conditions on the Northwest side of the Pup fire and will now allow heavy equipment to work along the 2840 and 400 roads north of Fish Lake, starting at Rocky Ridge shelter, to clear the roads to serve as an effective fire break. The shelter has been wrapped with heat-reflecting material to safeguard it from fire activity.

Northwest Interagency Incident Management Team 8 has been ordered to replace Team 6, which times out on Sunday. It is important to complete the miles of road preparation work that has been initiated in order for fire breaks to be in place in case fire behavior intensifies as drying takes place.

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 visit https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/closures/5503/ or your local Forest office.

9-21-17 High Cascades Complex East Fire Daily Update

Summary: Keeping crews dry in light of weather conditions was the priority for the High Cascades Complex East Zone yesterday. Rain is expected to decrease dramatically over the next few days, allowing operations to re-engage the fire. Despite the weather, crews were able to complete one mile of road blading on the North Pelican Fire and remove 5,000 feet of hose and water pumps on the Blanket Fire. With the amount of rain and snow on the landscape, operational tactics will begin to focus on suppression rehabilitation efforts. Suppression rehab involves repairing constructed fire line, areas cleared of vegetation to control the fire, to minimize erosion and return the landscape to a more natural looking condition. Often, as with this fire, suppression repair work is done by firefighters even before the fire is contained. Rehab work also includes fixing fences, roads and drainage structures damaged during fire operations.

Fire crews work closely with resource advisers from the forest and park service to protect cultural resources, threatened, endangered and sensitive species habitat, high resource areas, campgrounds and infrastructure during this process. Methods for rehab work ranges from scattering excess brush and vegetation along the dirt lines to removing soil berms created during dozer operations. The ultimate goal is to mitigate impacts caused during fire operations.

Fire acreage remains steady: 

North Pelican: 3,589 acres, 73% contained

Blanket Creek: 33,322 acres, 23% contained

Spruce Lake: 15,826 acres and 22% contained

Weather: Showers will diminish through Thursday with a drying and warming trend beginning Friday.

Closures: Forest Managers are reevaluating area closures, but until that decision is made, a number of area road and trail closures are in place. For specific closure information, visit https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5503. Roads in the National Park may be closed due to weather, visitors are urged to check conditions before heading out. The West Rim Drive is closed until Friday at 4:00 p.m. due to construction. 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.