News

Few new C.O. smokes, but firefighters press on

Published August 15, 2017 10:59 PM

(Update: Tuesday evening fire status)

The Central Oregon Dispatch Center in Redmond received two new smoke reports Tuesd ay , resulting in one fire that was contained at a half-acre, but recent lightning- and human-caused blazes are keeping hundreds of firefighters busy.

Here’s COIDC’s Tuesday evening update:

An incident management team has arrived from the southwest to assist with the management of several of the fires in the Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests, as well as manage any new fire starts that may occur over the next several weeks due to drying conditions and increased visitation from the solar eclipse.

Dry conditions under a west to northwest flow will continue into the upcoming weekend. Breezy to local windy conditions with low relative humidity will be likely Wednesday .

Milli Fire – Located in the Three Sisters Wilderness, the Milli Fire is now 260 acres and 2 percent contained. There are 176 personnel assigned to the fire, including six IA (initial attack( crews, three smaller (5-person) crews, four dozers, four masticators, and variety of overhead and support equipment. This fire is currently eight miles west of Sisters and about 1 1/2 miles southwest of Black Crater Lake.

Winds continued to push the fire east today , coming out of the wilderness and beginning to approach areas where fire operators can conduct direct suppression strategies to contain the fire. Minimum impact suppression strategies (MIST) are still being employed by crews operating within the Three Sisters Wilderness.

Due to the fire burning partially in the fire scar of the 2006 Black Crater Fire, all crews on the ground are using extreme caution in areas with dead, standing timber.

The Three Sisters Wilderness closure area includes the following: The Willamette National Forest has closed all trails south of Highway 242 into the Three Sisters Wilderness on the Willamette National Forest with the exception of Proxy Falls, which remains open. Also closed is the Obsidian Trailhead and Obsidian Limited Entry Area.

The area closure also includes Deschutes National Forest-managed lands within the Three Sisters Wilderness that are threatened by fire activity. The northern closure area border includes trails south of Highway 242 and west of Forest Road 1018 and east of the Three Sisters Wilderness Boundary on the Willamette National Forest down to approximately Scott’s Pass Trail, which is also included in the closure.

In addition, the closure area contains trails north of Cascade Lakes Highway, west of the South Sisters Climber Trail and includes all of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) from Elk Lake north to the PCT Trailhead near Lava Camp Lake Campground. For up-to-date information on closures on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and trail reroute options, visit https://www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/trail-conditions-and-closures/ .

While the closure includes all trails east of the PCT from Elk Lake to the South Sisters Climber Trail, the South Sisters Climber Trail and Elk Lake Trail remain open. Popular areas like Wickiup Plains and Sisters Mirror Lake are closed.

Recreationists should be aware of these additional trail closures: Black Crater Trail #4058, Millican Crater Trail #4066, Scott Pass Trail #4068, North Matthieu Lake Trail #4062, Trout Creek Tie Trail #4067, Millican Crater Trailhead, Scott Pass Trailhead, A portion of the Green Lakes Trail #17 is closed from Pole Creek Trail #4072 to Scott Pass Trail #4068, Moraine Lake Trail from South Sister Climber Trail to Leconte Crater Trail, Leconte Crater Trail, Devils Lake Trail, Mirror Lakes Trail, Elk-Devils Trail, and Horse Lake Trail. Green Lakes Trail #17 from the Cascade Lakes Highway to the Pole Creek Trail #4072 is OPEN.

There is a temporary flight restriction (TFR) over the fire area and can be found at http://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_7_1668.html

Whychus Fire – Located about eight miles northeast of Sisters, the Whychus Fire is currently 2,030 acres and 90 percent contained. Another day of no fire growth allowed for crews to continue mopping up. There are 65 personnel working on this fire, including two engines, three crews and three dozers.

Belknap Fire – Located in the Mill Creek Wilderness on the Ochoco National Forest, the Belknap Fire is estimated at 123 acres and 5 percent contained. Active fire behavior was observed today on the interior of the fire area. Aerial resources worked extensively over the past several operational periods and were able to apply a retardant line around the entire fire perimeter.

A trail closure has been put in place by the Ochoco National Forest for trails within the Mill Creek Wilderness. The following trails are now closed to the public for one month, beginning August 14 th , from today or until rescinded: Twin Pillars Trail #832; Wildcat Trail #833; and Belknap Trail #833A.

There is a temporary flight restriction (TFR) in place over the fire area and can be found at http://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_7_9749.html

North Pole Fire – Located northeast of Shaniko, the North Pole Fire is burning on private land and Bureau of Land Management. Currently, the North Pole Fire is 5,075 acres and zero percent contained. Five engines are currently assigned to the fire.

For more information, follow http://centralorfireinfo.blogspot.com/ or on Twitter at @CentralORFire

For the Central Oregon Fire Information hotline, please call 541-316-7711 .

Meanwhile, the Nena Springs Fire on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation is now 80 percent contained and covers about 40,000 acres. Incident Commanders Richy Harrod and Scott Magers are rapidly turning their attention from containing this fire to demobilizing their organizations and sending people home or to other fires. A smaller force is on the fire today finishing some areas that still have some heat and need attention.

But the work is not finished. On Wednesday , the NW Incident Management Team 12 and the State Fire Marshal’s Blue Team will be handing management of the fire back to the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Fire Management Division.

Although the Incident Management teams will be leaving, a number of resources will remain assigned to the incident.

The Fire Management Division is putting together a local Incident Management Team (IMT) that will be taking over responsibility for the further management of the Nena Springs Fire. Many of those team members have been working on the fire for the past week. Today the new team members are “shadowing” their counterparts on the existing IMT and finalizing plans for the next steps.

The transition to the local team is being done carefully to assure that the investments made by the hundreds of local, state and federal firefighters to contain this fire, are followed through to completion. The new team will be patrolling the area, mopping up where necessary, and rehabilitating areas disturbed by fire suppression activities.

Yesterday (Monday), firefighters made excellent progress in mopping up and patrolling the northeastern area of the fire that burned all the way to the Deschutes River. Last night a crew was camped out on this section of the fire and will be completing that work today . One small area on the west side of the Mutton Mountains was burned out yesterday and is looking very good this morning, officials said.

Pacific Northwest Team 2, a Type I Incident Management Team, is responding to and monitoring multiple fires within the Willamette National Forest including:

French Fire: The fire is located approximately 1 mile northwest of Detroit, Oregon in an inaccessible drainage. Fire personnel will begin clearing nearby roads of debris with heavy equipment and continue line preparation to support direct and indirect firefighting tactics.

Whitewater Fire: The fire is actively burning near Whitewater Trailhead in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness and adjacent forest lands, approximately 13 miles east of Detroit, Oregon. Crews continue to improve and hold existing containment lines and advance construction of indirect lines along the western and northern edges. A newly discovered fire north of the Whitewater Fire received bucket drops of water yesterday and will continue to be monitored today .

Rebel Fire: This fire is burning in timber along the south fork of the McKenzie River and spreading into the Three Sisters Wilderness in an area of steep, rugged terrain. Today crews continue improving containment line along FS Road 19, the Aufderheide Scenic Byway. Brushing and chipping will further reduce the availability of burnable fuels along the road and the north end of the fire, from Cougar Crossing campground south to Forest Road 425.

Avenue Fire: Avenue Creek Fire is located two miles south of McKenzie River Ranger District office in inaccessible terrain. Crews continue to assess options for containing this fire using indirect tactics.

Box Canyon Fire: This fire is located approximately 6 miles south of the Rebel Fire. Crews completed line construction around the fire and extinguished all hot spots near the containment lines. This fire is in patrol status and will continue to be monitored by air. Current resources will be shifted to higher priority fires in the area.

Weather and Fire Behavior: Warmer, drier weather is expected today with highs in the mid-70s, including northwesterly winds with gusts up to 15 miles per hour in the afternoon. Continued backing and creeping of flames with isolated torching is expected.

Fire Closures: Area closures are in place with numerous trails, campgrounds, and roads closed. Many campgrounds and trails in the eclipse path of totality are closed due to fires. This includes access to Mount Jefferson and Jefferson Park. For current conditions and closure information please visit:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/willamette/alerts-notices . Quick Facts Approximate Acreage: French: 1 acre
Whitewater: 6,569 acres
Rebel: 862 acres
Avenue: 10 acres
Box Canyon: 27 acres Start Date (Cause): French: August 10 (lightning)
Whitewater: Smoke reported July 23 (lightning)
Rebel: August 4 (unknown)
Avenue: August 11 (lightning)
Box Canyon: August 11 (lightning) Incident Commander: Chris Schulte, PNW Team 2 Type 1 Incident Management Team Resources on the Fire: French: 1 crew
Whitewater: 17 crews, 7 helicopters, 16 engines, 8 water tenders
Rebel, Avenue, and Box Canyon: 5 crews, 6 engines, 3 water tenders Total Personnel: French: 22
Whitewater: 701
Rebel, Avenue, and Box Canyon: 152 Jurisdiction: Willamette National Forest and Oregon Department of Forestry Relevant Links Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/unit/3860/