(Sisters, OR) – A virtual community meeting will be held at 7 PM on Monday, July 20th. The meeting will be live streamed for all attendees via Facebook on the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/SCSRPD
Today, dozer line was expanded and reinforced along the southern tip of the fire, as well as the eastern and northern lines. Hand crews worked on the east side as the fire is in canyon areas and equipment cannot access the area. The fire expanded to the southwest after the large smoke column, visible in the afternoon, collapsed across the fire lines. Crews fell back to the staging area for their safety. Very large air tankers dropped retardant to protect structures in the area. Night shift will work on identifying new areas to build line around the expanded area and work on any spot fires. Focus will also be on solidifying the line on the northeast corner where slop overs occurred during the day while continuing push the dozer line farther around to the western edge.
Akawa Butte Fire statistics will be published solely in the morning updates going forward.
For reference on where the Akawa Butte Fire is located, here are some popular locations around the fire with the distance to the fire perimeter – 8 miles east of Camp Sherman, over 10 miles north of Sisters, 9 miles west of Culver and 6.6 miles southwest from Cove Palisades State Park.
The public is asked to take caution and be aware while driving in the region due to increased fire activity and equipment, especially around the Sisters Rodeo grounds which has heavy equipment and crews entering and leaving at all hours.
Oregon State Fire Marshal (OSFM) Red Incident Management Team contacted homeowners in the surrounding area to the Akawa Butte Fire. OSFM Red Team will perform structure triage and do preparation work on structures.
Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) Complex Incident Management Team 3 took command of the Brewer and Box Springs Fires at 1800 and were inbriefed at noon today. All future updates for the Brewer and Box Springs Fires will be posted to their established Facebook page www.facebook.com/brewerfire.
Weather and Fire Behavior
Today’s temperatures were in the 90s with critically low humidity. Winds and clouds increased in the afternoon, increasing smoke and fire behavior. Warmer temperatures are expected tonight with modest chances of virga in the early morning. Gusty outflow winds may accompany the chance of precipitation.
Evacuations
County Sheriff’s issue evacuation orders. The most current evacuation information is available at:
Deschutes County:
https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/6f8868c4477e462b8a653a89260268fc
Jefferson County: https://fr911orgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=e1000ff48be84d6ba23431f303d2c247
Closures
BLM has issued closures for lands in and near the fires. See below for current information:
BLM Closures and Restrictions: https://www.blm.gov/programs/fire/regional-info/oregon-washington/fire-restrictions
Air Quality Information
Air quality updates: https://fire.airnow.gov/