John Day, Ore. – The Lewis Rock Fire has grown to an estimated 400 acres, since being sparked by lightning June 30th. Firefighters have continued to be challenged by numerous spotfires outside containment lines, caused by flying embers from trees torching. Wildland fuel conditions are incredibly dry and receptive to these sparks, causing these spotfires to rapidly spread.
Most of the fire movement has been to the south, away from Mitchell and the surrounding community. Today, dozers were used directly against the northern flank of the fire, with hotshot crews working in tandem to strengthen the line. The Wheeler County Sheriff and fire managers are confident there is no threat to the Mitchell area at this time.
At 12:00 p.m. today the Central Oregon District in-briefed Oregon Department of Forestry’s Incident Management Team 3, Incident Commander Tyler McCarty. The team will be taking command of the fire today at 6:00 p.m.
During in-briefing for the team, Rick Shaffer, Wheeler County Commissioner said “I’ve lived in Wheeler County for 72 years and I have never seen conditions like this. You think you’ve caught the fire and then you hear on the radio that there are spots across the line. It’s just really dry out there.”
Safety concerns for firefighters highlighted during in-briefing were heat related illnesses as temperatures are forecast to return to around 100 degrees in the coming days. There have been no accidents or injuries on the fire.
ODF Central Oregon District
Public Information: 541-263-0661
www.facebook.com/ODFCentralOregon
Twitter: @ODF_COD
Current fire restriction information and information for the Central Oregon District is available at www.odfcentraloregon.com.
Contact: Tom Fields
LewisRock.Information@gmail.com