9-22-17 High Cascades Complex East Fire Daily Update
Summary: Crews were back on the line Thursday, Sept. 21, evaluating and implementing rehab plans for the Spruce Lake, Blanket Creek and North Pelican Fires. Several excavators arrived at the Incident Command Post on Thursday and will begin work today repairing dozer lines as soil conditions allow. Operational repair pace will continue to increase as weather improves. No fire spread is expected for the next several days but some creeping and smoldering in the sheltered forest stands may occur at lower elevations where heat remained during the storm cycle.
Community Briefing: A community briefing to discuss current fire operations and rehab plans will be held Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. at the Rocky Point Fire Hall (25600 Rocky Point Road, Klamath Falls, Oregon).
North Pelican (3,589 acres, 73% contained) Crews bladed (smoothed) portions of Cold Springs Road and evaluated repair plans for the southwest edge near the wilderness boundary. They will continue cleaning hand and dozer lines for today’s operations. A deck of logs slid off a logging truck at the Junction of Cold Springs Rd and Hwy 140. The firewood is available for the public beginning Saturday with a permit obtained from the Ranger District. Blanket Creek (33,322 acres, 23% contained).
Crews started to pull hose on the western perimeter of Blanket Creek and assess hand and dozer lines to determine what type of equipment is required to complete repair work. Crews working the eastern perimeter chipped approximately 2.5 miles of NF road 3282, while crews on the southeast perimeter pulled 3.8 miles of hose. Spruce Lake (15,826 acres and 22% contained) Two hand crews spent the day removing snags and other vegetation from the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) to access and rehab the southern handline from the Forest Service boundary to Copeland Creek.
Based on current weather and fire behavior, the National Park Service and High Cascades Complex (East) Fire Incident Management team determined the fire no longer poses a threat to Mazama Village. The Level 1 Evacuation Notification for Mazama Village is lifted.
Closures: Forest Managers are reevaluating area closures. For more information visit https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5503. 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.
9-22-17 High Cascades Complex West Fire Daily Update
Size: Broken Lookout 18,781 acres; Pup 7,524 acres; Total High Cascades: 79,042 ac
Fire Containment: Broken Lookout 24%; Pup 12%; Total High Cascade Complex 32%
Incident Commander: Shawn Sheldon
West Zone Resources: Line Crews: 18; Helicopters: 3; Engines: 12; Water Tenders: 10;
Heavy Equip: 17
Total Personnel: W. Zone: 711
Jurisdiction: Rogue River-Siskiyou NF, Umpqua NF
The Jackson County Sheriff has announced the removal of all evacuation levels for the residents of the Union Creek area effective 9/20/17 at 6:00 p.m. Forest Service closures are still in effect until further notice.
On the Pup Fire, there is still remnant heat from the fire pushing directly against the fire line on the east side. The line consists of a road that has been prepared by brushing and chipping. Also, the fuels near the road have been burned out to provide an effective fuel break.
A small rock slide closed a road to the north side of the Pup Fire for a few hours on Thursday, but was removed by the end of the day. Heavy equipment was then able to move to the end of the road providing access to the Rocky Ridge shelter area and begin removing the “doghair” conifer and hardwoods from the roadside as work continues to surround the fire as much as possible with fuel breaks.
Rehabilitation work along the 6510 road, which serves as a contingency line between the Broken Lookout Fire and the Highway 62/230 corridor, will include the grinding of prominent stumps which remain after the felling of danger trees along the roadside. Chipping and hauling of woody debris continues, particularly along the 700 road system immediately east of the Broken Lookout Fire.
In the Huckleberry gap area slash is being pulled down the the hill from the 700-800 road that follows the divide between the Rogue and Umpqua drainages. Pruning will also be employed to reduce ladder fuels and to further prepare this road as a future anchor point for burning out or holding against oncoming flames.
The Remote Access Weather Station (RAWS) located just southwest of the Broken Lookout Fire recorded a total of 2.76 inches of rain and melted snow as of 6 pm Thursday. The RAWS near the Pup Fire showed 2.25 inches. A drying and warming trend begins today with temperatures rising into the sixties and seventies by early next week. Light winds from the north-northeast will gradually bring the relative humidity down to 35-40% in the fire area.
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.
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High Cascades Complex West Zone
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High Cascade Complex East and West Map
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