Falls Fire north of Burns tops 85,000 acres, still 0% contained; 7 task forces called in; Hwy. 395 reopens with pilot cars
(Update: Tuesday updates)
BURNS, Ore. (KTVZ) – The 6-day-old Falls Fire burning in Harney and Grant counties about 13 miles north of Burns continues to grow quickly, topping 85,000 acres by Tuesday morning, still with zero containment and evacuations around the region, but nearby U.S. Highway 395 reopened with traffic escorts.
Officials said in a Facebook post around noon Tuesday that Highway 395 had reopened, with flaggers and pilot cars escorting traffic between mileposts 44 and 60. "If fire activity increases and threatens the highway, it will be closed again," they said.
A couple of hours later, officials said a southwest wind had pushed the blaze up the slope of Burnt Mountain and into heavy timber, where it "turned into a crown fire." That allowed the blaze to spot over Forest Service Road 31, just east of Silvies River.
The Oregon State Fire Marshal has activated seven task forces of engines and other equipment to respond to Falls Fire structure protection needs.
Tuesday morning fire update:
Visit the fire's Facebook page for the latest information)
The Falls Fire experienced significant growth again yesterday due to hot and dry conditions and strong outflow winds from passing thunderstorms. The fire is now estimated at 85,348 acres with 0% containment. The fire is burning approximately 13.5 miles north of Burns, 15 miles southeast of Seneca, and 3 miles west of Highway (Hwy) 395. Highway 395 remains closed from milepost 60 north to Seneca.
A community meeting is planned for 6:30 p.m. at Seneca City Hall tonight, July 16. Fire managers intend to host the meeting in person and stream it live on the Malheur National Forest and Falls Fire 2024 Facebook pages. If fire activity or fire-related road closures makes it unsafe or unpractical for fire managers to travel from Burns to Seneca, the meeting will only be live streamed on Facebook. The meeting will include time for questions.
Yesterday afternoon the fire grew significantly in the northeast corner. Initially, the fire grew northerly toward Forest Service Road (FSR) 31 and it then shifted southeasterly toward the FSR 3110 pushed by strong, shifting winds. The fire also challenged anchor points in the northwest corner and southeast corners of the fire. Firefighters, on both day and night shifts, lined spot fires and continued to hold the northwestern and southern perimeters of the fire along the FSR 43.
Firefighters held the fire to minimal growth on the southeastern corner near Lake Creek and worked to establish dozer control lines to tie into the Silvies River area to the east toward the FSR 3110 area. One OSFM Structure Task Force worked on the fire throughout the night to triage and provide structure protection. Firefighters continued to scout for opportunities to establish additional control lines.
Aerial resources, including three helicopters, two cranes, six single-engine air tankers (SEATs), two large air tankers (LATs), and two very large air tankers (VLATs) helped to slow the fire's growth, and supported firefighters as they made progress securing containment lines.
Today, the fire is predicted to be very active, with elevated rates of spread. Firefighters will work to construct additional control lines and to hold the fire along established control lines using both aerial and ground resources. Firefighters will continue to scout for future control lines to the north and east.
The Oregon State Fire Marshal (OSFM) Blue Incident Management Team and seven task forces have been assigned to the fire. The task forces are structural firefighters from Oregon and Washington. They include Washington County, Lincoln County, Douglas County, Tillamook County, Yamhill County, Clackamas County, Snohomish County, and Thurston County.
Their primary focus will be structure protection, structure assessment, and supporting the overall mission of the Falls Fire. Fire activity in the area remains extreme and certain areas may not be safe for assessment.
As weather and fire behavior allow, OSFM Task Forces will assess cabins, ranches, and structures in and around the fire. Crews are documenting damage or lost structures using GPS software. They will be working on Lone Pine Road, Hines Logging Road, east of Highway 395, and west of Hwy 395 toward Silvies Ranch.
The incident command team continues to increase the number of resources working on the fire and to build greater capacity for fire suppression efforts. Currently there are 891 personnel on the fire; this includes 19 20-person hand crews, 41 fire engines, 13 bulldozers, and 14 water tenders.
Today’s predicted weather calls for dry and very unstable conditions with temperatures near 90 degrees and humidity around 15%. Winds will generally be from the west-southwest at 5-8 mph. There is a chance of thunderstorms with gusty winds up to 30 mph.
Evacuation notices remain in effect in Grant and Harney Counties. For the most accurate evacuation information, please visit the Harney County Sheriff’s evacuation map here: https://tinyurl.com/3zst4sjy, or the Grant County Emergency Management Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068819321423.
The Malheur National Forest issued an updated fire area closure Sunday, July 14. A detailed map and additional information about the fire area closure are available at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/malheur/news-events/.... A temporary flight restriction (TFR) remains in place over the fire area.
Fire Restrictions are in effect across Oregon; Know Before You Go, and use extreme caution while recreating in these hot and dry conditions. #OnlyYouCanPreventWildfires
U.S. Forest Service-Malheur National Forest
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Sunday notice from Grant County Emergency Management:
The American Red Cross is operating a shelter for evacuees from the Falls Fire. The shelter is located at the Grant County Fairgrounds, Trowbridge Pavilion, in John Day. There is a limited number of animals from evacuated locations that can be accommodated there as well.
The Harney and Grant County evacuation areas map can be found here.
To view a GIS version of the evacuation map: https://harneycounty.maps.arcgis.com/.../index.html...
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Forest Service news release:
JOHN DAY and HINES, Ore. - The Malheur National Forest has issued a new area closure for the Falls Fire. To protect public health and safety, fire managers have closed the area around the fire due to fire activity and fire suppression operations. This updated closure will be effective July 14, 2024, through December 31, 2024, unless rescinded sooner.
Closure Area Description:
· Starting at the junction of Highway 395 and the Malheur National Forest boundary, going east and north along the forest boundary to the intersection with Forest Road 15.
· Heading north on Forest Road 15 to the junction with Forest Road 16.
· Forest Road 16 west to the junction of Highway 395.
· North on Highway 395 to the junction of Grant County Road 63 (Izee Highway).
· Grant County Road 63 southwest to the Malheur National Forest Boundary following the forest boundary around the southern portion of the Emigrant Creek Ranger District to the intersection of Highway 395 and Malheur National Forest Boundary.
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OSFM sending firefighters, incident management team to Falls Fire in Harney County
Oregon State Fire Marshal - 07/14/24 12:38 PM
SALEM, Ore. - The Oregon State Fire Marshal is sending its Blue Incident Management Team and four task forces to the Falls Fire burning 20 miles northeast of Riley in Harney County.
Hot, dry, and windy conditions caused the fire to grow rapidly on Saturday, pushing it to 55,000 acres with zero percent containment.
“Within the last week, we mobilized three incident management teams to fires across Oregon. This highlights the substantial fire danger we are seeing,” Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said. “With dry lightning expected to hit east of the Cascades on Sunday, I can’t stress enough the importance of taking action to prevent sparking another wildfire.”
The Grant and Harney County sheriffs' offices have evacuation orders in place. A map of Harney County evacuations can be found here. Grant County evacuations can be found here.
For fire information, please follow the Falls Fire Facebook Page or the Falls Fire InciWeb page.
