Milli Fire update: Forest closure area reduced

Moderate growth and decreased fire behavior have prompted Sisters Ranger District officials to reduce the size of the area closure in place for the 24,079-acre Milli Fire, which will allow access to Deschutes National Forest-managed lands between Highway 242 and Highway 20 southeast of Black Butte Ranch.

Cold Springs Campground will also be open on a first come-first served basis for the remainder of the season, officials said Friday.

The western, southern and eastern boundaries of the current area closure remain in place, but the northern boundary now begins at the Hortense Lake Trailhead and travels south along the forest boundary of the Mt. Washington Wilderness and east to Forest Road 1028. Fourmile Butte, the Mt. Washington Wilderness, and Forest Road 1028 southeast of the Forest Road 2061, all remain closed.

Highway 242 is closed west of Forest Road 430 to all vehicles, pedestrians and bicycles. Forest officials are working with Oregon Department of Transportation to address hazard trees along the road and will continue repairing and rehabilitating culverts, fire lines and burned areas along the highway.

The following trails, trailheads and campground closures on the Sisters Ranger District
remain in place:

· Park Meadow Trail #4075

· Metolius Windigo Trail #99 from the Graham Corral Horse Camp to the trail junction with Park Meadow Trail #4075

· Green Lakes Trail #17 is closed from Park Meadow Trail #4075 to Lava Camp Lake at Hwy 242

· Black Crater Trail #4058

· Millican Crater Trail #4066

· Scott Pass Trail #4068

· North Matthieu Lake Trail #4062

· Trout Creek Tie Trail #4067

· Chush Falls Trail #4080

· Pole Creek Trail #4072

· Whychus Overlook Trail

· Whychus Creek Trail

· Millian Crater Trailhead

· Scott Pass Trailhead

· Whispering Pines Campground

· Sisters Cow Camp

· Lava Camp Lake Campground
The public is encouraged to KNOW BEFORE YOU GO by contacting the Sisters Ranger District office at 541-549-7700 if you plan to visit the area.

The Milli Fire is currently being managed by a local Type 3 Incident Management Team under the command of Jake Akerberg.

For more information on this fire, please visit:

InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5517/

Milli Fire

September 8, 2017 Daily Update

Thunderstorms passed through Central Oregon yesterday and blanketed the area with lightning and rain. The Milli Fire area likely received between .03 and .10 of an inch of rain yesterday which will help the finer fuels like grass and shrubs retain moisture. Humidity recoveries were good over the fire area, which generally makes fuel less receptive to ignition but this will likely only last for the next few days until a drying and warming trend returns.

The area closure in place for the Milli Fire has been reduced. While the western, southern and eastern boundaries of the closure remain the same, the northern border has decreased to open access around Black Butte Ranch and Cold Springs Campground. More information on this closure can be found at the Forest Closures link below.

A Red Flag Warning remains in effect through 11:00 p.m. today for abundant lightning and gusty outflow winds. If any new fires are ignited from lightning strikes in the Milli Fire area, the team will respond to them.

Firefighters continue repairing and rehabilitating fire line along the northwestern edge of the fire area. Crews also continue monitoring the perimeter as it pushes into the lava flows along Highway 242 ensuring that all hot spots are monitored until cold. The majority of heat from this fire remains in the southwestern edge of the fire perimeter as it moves slowly south in the Pole Creek burn and west into rock.

Acreage on this fire will likely grow moderately in the coming week while containment remains at 60%. The west side of the fire continues to burn down slope with occasional torching in pockets of timber in the Three Sisters Wilderness and will continue to extinguish naturally when it runs out of fuel in the lava fields. Fire will also continue a slow move to the southwest in the Pole Creek burn area where overhead hazards remain a concern for firefighter safety. When necessary, firefighter will utilize indirect firefighting tactics like helicopter bucket drops to cool hot spots.