Southwest Oregon Joint Information Center

High Cascades Complex West Fire Daily Update

Northwest Interagency Incident Management Team 8, Incident Commander: Tim Keith

Special Announcements: General Westside Deer hunting season opens this week-end. The Rogue River-Siskiyou and the Umpqua National Forests encourage Forest visitors to “Know before you go”! Know: the forecasted weather; road, trail and area closure information; and be aware of firefighters working in the vicinity of your hunting activities.

Fire Information Center: (541) 316-8352 Available 8:00 am to 9:00 pm.

Information Websites: Inciweb – https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5503 and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/R6RRSNF and https://facebook.com/UmpquaNationalForest/

Incident Management Team: Northwest Interagency Incident Management Team 8, Incident Commander, Tim Keith, is managing the High Cascades Complex - West Zone. The incident command post (ICP) is located at the Joseph Stewart State Park near Lost Creek Reservoir southwest of Prospect, Oregon. A spike camp is located at Milo Academy in Milo, OR.

Current Fire Information: The High Cascades Complex - West Zone is a compilation of fires started by lightning storms earlier this summer. The West Zone consists of the Pup and the Broken Lookout Fires. Both fires are partially burning in and outside of the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness on the Rogue River-Siskiyou and Umpqua National Forests. Firefighters are making significant progress with suppression and vegetation clean-up. Structures are being unwrapped from protective coverings. Cleanup including pulling flagging, removing signs, and garbage cleanup is occurring across all divisions.

Pup – 8,222 acres, 13% contained. Located northwest and southeast of Hershberger Lookout partially in the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness. Indirect containment line on the north has been completed. Hauling of piled vegetation generated from indirect fire line constructed along forest roads is progressing. Snag removal along these roads for safe travel has been completed. Other firefighters are mopping up hotspots.

Broken Lookout – 19,114 acres, 27% contained. Located directly west of Union Creek on the southern end of the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness where it is burning on both sides of the Wilderness. Firefighters are chipping vegetative debris generated from indirect fire line construction along forest roads and patrolling for hotspots.

Resources: Total personnel assigned to the Complex (both Zones) – 648: 1-type 1 crew, 2-type 2 IA crews, 10-type 2 crews, 6-camp crews, 13-engines, 5-masticators, 3-medium helicopters, 2- light helicopters, 1-dozers, 5-water tenders, and 215 overhead.

Air Operations: A temporary flight restriction (TFR) is in place over the fire area restricting aerial public access. Please check the NOTAMs prior to flying. The public is reminded all air operations are grounded any time a drone is sighted within the TFR, delaying fire suppression efforts. Flying within the TFR is prohibited and against the law. The helibase is located at the Prospect Airport and is closed to public use. The airport is planned to reopen on October 15th.

Air Quality: For the most, up to date air quality reported for your area see Air Now http://www.airnow.gov/ or the Oregon Smoke Blog http://oregonsmoke.blogspot.com

Weather: Warmer and drier conditions are expected again today under sunny skies with light east/southeast ridgetop winds. The winds will bring higher temperatures, 77 to 82 degrees and decreasing relative humidity, 20 – 50% percent this afternoon. Ridgetop winds will be northeast 6 – 9 mph. Friday through Monday a cold front is expected to pass with wetting rain possible Friday and significant rainfall by Tuesday.

Behavior: Expected fire behavior is very low intensity surface fire in sheltered fuels under dense canopy with minimal ground spread with no perimeter growth. Creeping and smoldering may re-establish in the litter, duff and jackpots (piles) of dead and down fuels. Active fire was observed yesterday in several snags and piles of fuel. All were well interior of the containment lines.

Closures: Multiple area, trail, and Forest road closures are limiting public access into specific areas for public safety. “Know before you go” by visiting https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5503 or your local Forest office.

9-27-17 High Cascades Complex East Fire Daily Update

Special Announcements: Limited phone calls and lack of fire activity eliminated the need for an additional fire information line at Crater Lake National Park. As of 0600 today, CLNP fire information can be obtained by calling the main line at 541.238.7164. Fire information boards will be updated every few days as needed. The incident meteorologist expects weather to reach the high 70’s on Thursday, but temperatures will decrease dramatically as a wet cold front moves in this weekend. There is some potential for aggressive creeping on Thursday, but that will be put to rest as cooler temperatures impede the fire’s ability to grow.

Current Fire Information: Despite the rigors of the job, crews remained committed to the operational task at hand, completing 63% of the total repairs identified on the fires. Emphasis again was on chipping, grading and hand and dozer repair. Milestones reached today included the successful repair of the trailhead on North Pelican, the unwrapping of the Honeymoon Cabin on the Blanket Creek Fire and the near 100% completion of suppression repair on the Spruce Lake Fire. As road crews finish work on North Pelican they will move north to assist crews on the Blanket Creek Fire and begin grading FS Rd. 3228

Air Operations: Air operations had one of their busiest days yesterday logging a total of 6 flight hours and hauling 3200 pounds of cargo and 16 passengers to various drop points on the fires.

Closures: Fire closures remain on public lands within some hunting units. The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is closed at several points on the Fremont-Winema National Forest, Sky Lakes Wilderness and Crater Lake National Park due to safety concerns. Check trail, road, and area closures on InciWeb, park and forest websites. West Rim Drive in Crater Lake National Park remains closed for scheduled maintenance and repaving through Friday at 4 p.m.

Weather: Friday afternoon a cold front will move through the fire and result in much cooler temperatures, high relative humidity and gusty west winds on the ridge tops. The cooler unsettled weather will last well into next week and will result in widespread wetting rain.

Traffic: Expect possible delays on Highway 230 between Union Creek and the junction with Highway 138 due to road construction. In Crater Lake National Park, heavy construction traffic may bring delays near North Junction.

Quick Facts of the Incident Summary

Fire Locations: Rogue River-Siskiyou NF-High Cascades Ranger District, Fremont-Winema NF-Klamath Ranger District, Crater Lake National Park

Approximate Acreage: 52,737 acres (East Zone only)

Containment: 40% (East Zone only)

Suppression Repair: 63% (East Zone only)

Start Dates: North Pelican – 08.10.2017, Spruce Lake – 07.29.2017, Blanket Creek – 07.26.2017

Cause: Lightning

Incident Commander: Tim Roide, Great Basin Type 2 Incident Management Team #4

Resources on the Fires: 4 handcrews, 4 engines, 2 helicopters

Total Personnel: 223

Online Links

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