Milli Fire tops 22,000 acres, still 44 percent contained

(Thursday morning update)

Containment lines held in Wednesday’s strong winds on the more than 22,000-acre Milli Fire west of Sisters, still at 44 percent containment, officials said Thursday.

Here’s the Thursday update from fire officials:

Fire Information Line: 541-719-8135
Email: millifireinfo@gmail.com
Website: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5517
Blog: http://centralorfireinfo.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @CentralORFire
Youtube Channel: https://goo.gl/SRRAr3 Location of Origin: 9 miles west of Sisters, OR
Start date: August 11 , 2017, 2:42 pm
Size: Approximately 22,190 acres
Percent Contained: 44%
Cause: Lightning
Resources Assigned: 451 personnel Milli Fire
August 31 , 2017 Morning Update The private land within the perimeter once again became active late yesterday afternoon. Crews patrolled the eastern fireline and found one small spot fire, 20 feet by 20 feet in size. The spot was contained. Firefighters worked through the night to complete a low-intensity burnout on the private land which will strengthen the eastern fire line.

Fuels continue to burn within the fire perimeter which will produce some smoke. Fire behavior consists mostly of creeping and smoldering with a few isolated pockets of unburned trees potentially torching. Firefighters have found minimal hotspots within contained areas of the fire. They will continue to patrol, mop up, and rehab contained areas of the fire.

Clear skies yesterday afternoon allowed a reconnaissance plane to fly over the fire and look for any additional spot fires outside the fireline. No spot fires were found. The west side of the fire continues to burn down slope into the Three Sisters Wilderness and established containment lines. The south side of the fire that is burning into the Pole Creek Fire scar did not significantly grow. All containment lines held even with strong winds yesterday .

Good progress is being made on rehabilitation in and around the contained areas on the fire. Crews, dozers, excavators and wood chippers continue to work to return the fire area, control lines and dozer lines to a more natural state.

Central Oregon’s Northwest Type 2 Incident Management Team (IMT) 8 is working with the Southwest Area Type 1 IMT today in preparation to transition management of the Milli Fire late this afternoon.

Weather is expected to become warmer and drier, with temperatures in the 90’s over the holiday weekend. Air quality is expected to vary in the next few days as several fires continue to burn in the area.

Level 1 and 2 evacuation levels are still in place for some communities around the Milli Fire. Questions on evacuation levels need to be directed to the Deschutes County Sheriff’s office at 541-693-6911 . Current evacuation levels: Level 2- Crossroads subdivision, Edgington Road, Remuda Road, Peterson Burn Road, Wildwing and Three Creeks Road residences returned to Level 2 (Be Set) Evacuation Notice on 8/23/17 , allowing residents to return to their homes. Level 1 – Tollgate subdivision, all areas between OR 242 and US 20, west of Cold Springs Cutoff (Forest Road 1018) which includes Black Butte Ranch.

Road Closures:
US 20 is open east and westbound. However, single lane traffic with a pilot car will create significant delays. OR 242 east of Cascade Crest to the junction of FR 15. For further information see www.tripcheck.com

Links:
Forest Closures: For further information go to: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/deschutes/alerts-notices

Smoke monitoring information is available at: oregonsmoke.blogspot.com