Long Hollow Fire doubles in size to 33,000 acres

(Update: Adding Garner Complex Fire update)

The Long Hollow Fire southeast of Dufur doubled to more than 33,000 acres Friday, in part due to burnout operations aimed at stopping the grass and brush fire’s spread, officials said Saturday.

Here’s the Saturday morning update:

Acres: Approximately 33,408
Start Date: 26 July 2018
Cause: Farm Machinery Location: Dufur , Oregon 97021
Containment: 0% Fuels: Grass and brush
Total personnel: 150

Last night, crews completed burn out operations along Browns Rd, Hwy 216 and the Deschutes River creating a line along the south edge of the fire. Burning operations are utilized to create a buffer ahead of the fire’s edge. Through much of the night winds were consistently coming from the northwest, but in the early morning hours winds shifted pushing the fire to the west. During this early morning shift, the Sheriff issued an (emergency phone network) call to local ranchers who came out to assist with firefighting efforts. All operations are focused on protecting “Values at Risk” that have been identified by local jurisdictions.

Continued high temperatures and gusty afternoon winds are expected today. Engines, hand crews, and structural fire crews are being assisted with aircraft today to continue securing and improving constructed fire line along the fire perimeter. Crews will focus on finishing fire line between the corner of Tygh Ridge Road and the Deschutes River.

Fire Safety Awareness: Hwy 216 is closed from the junctions with Hwy 197 to Hwy 97. It continues to be extremely dry all over the central Oregon region, and people should use extreme caution in their use of fire or machinery and ensure tow safety chains are not dragging. For information on current fire restrictions, please visit https://www.centraloregonfire.org .

Fire Weather: High temperatures and low humidity with gusty afternoon winds are anticipated the rest of the weekend, which will likely result in extreme fire conditions.

Closures and Restrictions: The area along the river is closed to the public from Buck Hollow River Access (near Hwy 216) to the Macks Canyon Campground. The area is also under Industrial Fire Protection Level III. Roadblocks have been set up by local law enforcement.

Fire Information Links: Fire information can be found at www.centraloregonfire.org and https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/ .

Fire Information: (602) 292-5315 (8:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M.)

Email: centralorfireinfo@gmail.com

InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6040/

Twitter: @CentralORFire

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Here’s the Saturday morning update on the Timber Crater 6 Fire

Crater Lake National Park, OR – The area affected by the Timber Crater 6 Fire stands at 3,125 acres and is 65% contained. There are 656 firefighters and support staff are assigned to the fire.

Incident Commander Brian Goff spoke at this morning’s briefing, saying that primary containment lines have been constructed around the entire fire. He said that confidence in those lines’ ability to contain the fire is growing each day.

Fire crews are working to improve and secure the remaining 35% of fire line. This process is called mop up and cold trailing. During mop up, logs smoldering near the fire perimeter are doused with water or moved into the interior where they can be safely consumed. Burned trees that are still standing, are called snags. Snags can fall and pose a hazard to firefighters working in the area, and if they fall across a containment line, they create a pathway for fire to escape. Firefighters will cut down these trees to mitigate those hazards.

Teams of firefighters walking in a grid pattern patrol inside the fire line to locate hidden heat sources. These hot spots will be wetted, then the ash and water will be mixed until no heat remains. Firefighters often remove one glove and place their bare hand on top of the ash to feel for heat. This is called cold trailing. When mop up and cold trailing are completed and no heat remains, the line is considered cold. At this time the fire line will be deemed complete and fire in this section will be contained.

Fire managers have been monitoring the Timber Crater 9 fire. The small fire had previously been unstaffed as resources were concentrated on the Timber Crater 6 Fire. Yesterday, a crew of specially trained firefighters rappelled into the area, sliding down ropes from a helicopter. These firefighters used chain saws to remove trees to create a helicopter landing site. Once the site was complete, a helicopter landed and inserted a team of firefighters knows as a Helitack Crew. Together, these men and women began building containment line around the approximately ½ acre fire. They remained on site overnight and will continue mopping up and cold trailing the Timber Crater 9 Fire today.

Yesterday, there was a motor vehicle crash on Highway 138 involving fire apparatus. No serious injuries were sustained, but this should serve as a reminder that fire apparatus are present on roadways and visitors should drive more slowly and be mindful of large fire vehicles pulling out and stopping in unexpected locations.

Smoke from the Timber Crater 6 fire is likely to disperse to the southeast toward Klamath Falls. Drift smoke from multiple fires across southwest Oregon continues to impact the Crater Lake National Park area. For visitors wanting to see Crater Lake under the most favorable conditions, a smoke management specialist suggests mornings as the best viewing time over the next several days. For more information about smoke conditions from air monitoring sites, visit http://oregonsmoke.blogspot.com/. For hourly updates visit https://wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/smoke.pl. Smoke monitor #19 is located at Diamond Lake and smoke monitor #20 is located at park headquarters. More information is also available at https://tools.airfire.org/outlooks/CraterLakeArea.

Follow Us: at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5986/, Crater Lake National Park and Fremont-Winema National Forest on Facebook, and swojic.blogspot.com.

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And a noon Saturday update on the Garner Complex Fire:

Members of the public have a chance today to get information firsthand at a public meeting. The meeting is at 3 p.m. Saturday at North Valley High School, 6741 Monument Drive, Grants Pass.

Volatile, erratic fire activity continues, particularly on the Taylor Creek Fire. The hot, dry weather conditions in the region promote fire growth and make it harder for firefighters to suppress the fire. Fire managers say there is active fire behavior on just about every area of the fire, particularly around the perimeter.

Taylor Fire: Oregon State Fire Marshal’s structure task forces and wildland firefighters are working together, especially in the following road areas: Limpy Cr. Rd, Shan Cr. Rd, W. Pickett Rd, Pickett Rd., Galice Rd, and Taylor Cr. Rd. areas where the fire is nearing structure protection areas. To date, no structures have been damaged or lost. In the southwest corner, the Unmanned Air System (drone) located a 10′ x 10′ spot that firefighters were able to contain.

Grave Creek Fire: The fire was active along the south end of the fire perimeter. Firefighters continue today to establish control lines in that area. Other areas are stable. Firefighters are involved in mopping-up operations, up to 100 feet inside the perimeter.

“Ready, Set, Go! (Levels 1-3) evacuation levels are changing daily. To check the status of a particular residence or address, call the Southwest Oregon Joint Information Center at 541-474-5305 (hours: 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., with a recorded message for after hour calls). The Red Cross evacuation center is at Grants Pass High School, 830 NE Ninth Street.

The estimate containment is 27% and 29,039 acres.

Resources: Engines: 114, Dozers: 32, Water Tenders: 44, Assigned Aircraft: 35, OSFM Structure Task Forces: 11