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| A firefighter works on mop-up at the Ramsey Canyon Fire on Saturday. |
A welcome shift to cooler weather with increased humidity has helped firefighters make significant progress on several fires across Oregon.
Ramsey Canyon Fire – Jackson County
Over the last 36 hours, firefighters have been able to capitalize on the cooler weather and have gained excellent progress in securing containment lines. On the east side of the fire, mop-up operations will build upon containment lines that have now held for several days.
There were a couple of spot fires caught outside of those containment lines yesterday, but those were holdover spots from previous days that were discovered by air resources and quickly contained by firefighters on the ground.
Homeowners will remain protected by local resources and structure protection task forces can once again be mobilized if the need arises.
Location: 12 miles northwest of Eagle Point
Ignition Date: August 22, 2018
Cause: Under investigation
Acres burned: 1,971
Personnel: 1,072
Containment: 25%
More information:
Watson Creek Fire – Lake County
Containment significantly increased on this fire, going from 15% yesterday to 40% as of this morning.
However, light winds from the southwest this morning are expected to increase in velocity and vary in direction throughout the day. Fire lines on the east side may be tested by the wind and engines will patrol as a precaution.
A slight southerly flow is predicted to pick up in the fire area, becoming westerly around noon then northwesterly in the evening. Winds of 8 to 13 mph could gust up to 25 to 30 mph in places.
A drone flown by Lakeview Crew 7 from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) detected a two-acre spot fire near where Forest Roads 28 and 33 join. The spot fire was contained and a precautionary Level 2 evacuation order was issued for the area south and southwest of the Watson Creek Fire.
Location: 13 miles west of Paisley
Ignition Date: August 15, 2018
Ignition Date: August 15, 2018
Cause: Under investigation
Acres burned: 54,859
Personnel: 1,040
Containment: 40%
More information:
Terwilliger Fire – Willamette National Forest
Smoke settled in the valley yesterday during the morning hours before clearing in the early afternoon to bring sunny skies to the fire area and increased fire activity in the afternoon. The fire continued to move north of Annie Creek and into the Basalt Creek drainage limiting the ability to established a direct line. The continuous coordination between Oregon Department of Forestry, Forest Service, and the Incident Management Team has been successful in simultaneously constructing a direct line and a contingency line on the western perimeter of the fire.
A rockslide covered Road 19 yesterday and other rolling debris created obstructions that slowed movement through the area to the southwest perimeter. Fire responders engaged midday. Crews were able go direct along the road and aim to strengthen and hold the line during night operations. Air operations engaged the southwestern and western perimeters in the afternoon and will continue as conditions allow with increased resources today.
To the southeast, fire moved into the 2017 Rebel fire scar but slowed significantly due to lack of fuels. In addition, it continues to slowly burn through rugged terrain of the Three Sisters Wilderness.
Fire activity is expected to moderate as clouds, cooler temperatures, and higher humidity cover the fire area. Firefighters will focus on extinguishing spot fires and holding and securing the southwest perimeter.
Location: 30 miles east of Springfield
Cause: Under investigation
Cause: Under investigation
Acres burned: 5,398
Personnel: 321
Containment: 1%
Containment: 1%
More information:
Other fires
Jennie’s Peak Fire – Wheeler County
Interior burning was observed but posed no threat to the control lines. A cooler, more moist air mass has helped firefighters gain considerable depth on the control lines and they will continue to work today to identify and extinguish any remaining hot spots. This fire will be turned back over to the local unit tomorrow morning.
Location: 14 miles south of Fossil
Ignition Date: August 17, 2018
Cause: Unknown
Acres burned: 45,956
Personnel:
200
Containment: 90%
More information:
Stubblefield and Lonerock Fires – Gilliam and Wheeler counties
Minimal fire activity was observed yesterday on the Stubblefield and Lonerock Fires as firefighters continued to mop up remaining hot spots within control lines. This fire will be turned back over to the local unit tomorrow morning.
Stubblefield Fire – 54,221 acres, 95% contained
Lonerock Fire – 5,056 acres, 95% contained
Location: West, southwest and southeast of Condon
Ignition Date: August 17, 2018
Ignition Date: August 17, 2018
Cause: Unknown
Personnel: 43
More information:
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6162/
Miles and Columbus fires
(formerly the South Umpqua Complex/Sugar Pine Fires, also includes Snow Shoe and Round Top)
The Miles and Columbus fires will transition to a smaller fire management team Monday morning. This downsizing will be reflected in lower overall personnel and equipment numbers. However, work continues toward full containment of the two fires and repair of areas damaged by firefighting activities is ongoing.
Work efforts will be focused on securing and reinforcing fire lines on the east and west ends of the gap between the Miles and Columbus fires, which are slowly burning toward each other. Repair work will focus on restoring no-longer-needed dozer lines and handlines to a more natural state and to prevent runoff from impacting fish-bearing streams.
Miles Fire – 35,641 acres, 54% contained
Columbus Fire – 10,226 acres, 55% contained
Location: Approximately 5 miles northeast of Trail
Ignition date: July 15, 2018
Cause: Lightning
Acres burned: Combined total of 49,837
Personnel: 369
More information:
Taylor Creek and Klondike East
Progress continued on strengthening fire lines, back hauling equipment, repairing roads, and restoring areas of suppression activities. Firefighters will be patrolling the established lines and mopping up any hot spots. A hose lay has been completed in the southern end of the fire that will assist in forcefully dealing with areas of heat. Effective suppression efforts have allowed fire managers to end the night shift.
Location: 10 miles west of Grants Pass
Ignition date: July 15, 2018
Cause: Lightning
Acres burned: 52,826 acres
Personnel: 403
Containment: 95%
More information:
Klondike Fire West
The firefighters continue to implement an aggressive and adaptive approach to suppressing the fire in the Klondike West Zone. Air tankers will continue to be used to check the fire spreading out of Silver Creek toward Silver Peak Ridge.
Six heavy air tankers were used in the past two days, and will be used again today if possible.
Community meeting: Klondike Fire West
- Sunday, Aug. 26, 3 p.m., outside the Agness Community Library, 3905 Cougar Ln., Agness
Location: 9 miles northwest of Selma
Ignition date: July 15, 2018
Cause: Lightning
Acres burned: 87,701 acres
Personnel: 1,240
Containment: 41%
More information: