InciWeb Articles & Incidents for Washington and Oregon

 Apple Acres and Pearl Hill Fire Update for Friday, September 11, 2020 There will be a virtual public meeting today at 5:00 p.m. for the Pearl Fire and at 6:00 p.m. for the Apple Acres Fire. To participate please go to:  Northeast Washington Fire Information Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/newfireinfo. Pearl Hill Fire The significant increase in today’s reported acreage is due to smoke clearing and new terrain becoming observable in the northwest portion of the fire. Very little additional acreage was burned yesterday. A two-day push begins today with hand crews trying to tie off the backing and flanking flames in the northwestern corner of the Pearl Hill Fire across steep slopes and challenging terrain. Suppression activity will be complicated by the change in wind direction as described in the weather section below. Flare-ups continue along the western edge of the Pearl Hill Fire while power poles and fence posts hold fire deep in the ground throughout the...

Omak, WA – Anoche: Anoche las tripulaciones trabajaron para fortalecer las lineas de contención ya existentes y crearon otra línea. Hoy: Las prioridades de hoy se centrarán en el área al este de Omak Lae y el área de Haley Lake. Esta es la zona de mayor actividad de fuego y los bomberos en tierra serán asistidos por un helicóptero que echará agua. Otra prioridad es fortalecer el área del molino viejo en la ciudad. El molino y el área alrededor del molino están ardiendo y las tripulaciones intentan calmar esa área. Las líneas de buldócer y de mano se fortalecerán y los bomberos trabajarán desde el perímetro del fuego en los focos calientes. Las compañías eléctricas están reemplazando postes y restaurando la luz en las áreas afectadas. Esta mañana está programado un vuelo en helicóptero de reconocimiento para tener una mejor idea de las áreas quemadas. El fuego mide 187,689 acres y está contenido en un 25%. Las temperaturas estarán en los bajos 90 y los...

Northwest Incident Management Team 12 took command at 6:00 AM on the Big Hollow Fire 15 miles northwest of Carson and 7 miles southeast of Cougar, Washington. Weather is expected to be partly cloudy and very smokey, with temperatures in the low to mid-70s. Light westerly winds of 7 to 12 mph are forecasted, shifting to southwesterly in the evening.    Operations Today: Indirect control lines are being constructed with heavy equipment and roads to protect the communities of Cougar, Chelatchie and Yale to the west. Structure protection is being implemented to protect cabins at Government Mineral Springs and the Carson National Fish Hatchery. Firefighters are also assessing the risk to structures to the north and east in the fire area. Closures: The Forest Service has issued area closures in the southwest portion of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest that include most developed campgrounds, dispersed camping, day-use and wilderness areas, and most forest roads and trails within...

Deschutes National Forest Closure #06-01-05-20-06 is

 Pearl Hill and Apple Acres Fire Update for Friday, September 11, 2020There will be a virtual public meeting today at 5:00 p.m. for the Pearl Fire and at 6:00 p.m. for the Apple Acres Fire. To participate please go to:  Northeast Washington Fire Information Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/newfireinfo. Pearl Hill Fire The significant increase in today’s reported acreage is due to smoke clearing and new terrain becoming observable in the northwest portion of the fire. Very little additional acreage was burned yesterday. A two-day push begins today with hand crews trying to tie off the backing and flanking flames in the northwestern corner of the Pearl Hill Fire across steep slopes and challenging terrain. Suppression activity will be complicated by the change in wind direction as described in the weather section below. Flare-ups continue along the western edge of the Pearl Hill Fire while power poles and fence posts hold fire deep in the ground throughout the burned...

PORTLAND, Ore. – As a result of extreme fire activity, the Bureau of Land Management has temporarily closed all public lands managed by the Northwest Oregon District east of Interstate 5, effective immediately. This expands the previous closure of developed campgrounds in the area, to include all BLM-administered lands, roads, sites, and trails.All BLM-administered land within the Northwest Oregon District east of I-5 is closed to the public. Members of the public may not enter closed areas, and all uses—including hunting and dispersed camping—are prohibited. This temporary closure covers the portions of Lane, Linn, Marion, Clackamas and Multnomah counties which lie east I-5, west of the Cascade Range, and north from Cottage Grove to the Columbia River. In addition, BLM-managed public lands in Lincoln County are closed, with the exception of Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area. Popular recreation spots including Fishermen’s Bend campground, Wildwood recreation site, Alsea...

 Fire Summary:There will be a virtual public meeting tonight to provide the latest information. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. live on our Facebook page. Overnight the fire activity increased on the northwest side of the fire, but fire crews were able to minimize additional spread. The level 1, “Get Ready” evacuation notice in that area remains in place for Highway 62 from milepost 94 to Sun Mountain Road. Be aware of the following road closures; Modoc Point Rd from highway 62 to milepost 1, highway 62 from milepost 94 to milepost 100, and highway 422 north from highway 97 to highway 62. Today firefighters will work the perimeter of the fire looking for and putting out any hot spots and reinforcing the containment lines. On the northwest corner of the fire, crews and bulldozers will work on closing the line around the fire. Crews will be seen along highway 97 and highway 62 working to hold and strengthen containment lines. Thank you to everyone who has donated supplies. We...

Fire Area Emergency Closure from the Deschutes National Forest Sisters Ranger DistrictFire Closure Order #06-01-05-20-06 is

Fire summary:Last night fire fighters were able to continue fighting throughout the night and built on yesterday’s work. Fire fighters held the fire inside the perimeter and the acreage remains the same. Additional fire fighters and equipment arrived and are working the fire today.   Today’s objectives are: Construct and hold fireline, using direct attack as safely possible, Locate, identify, and mitigate hazard trees, Establish hose lays and support holding and mop-up operations.  The fire still remains very active and dynamic. Roads closed to the public are for the public and fire fighters’ safety. Large water tenders and fire engines are using these roads and it’s not safe for public entry. Please respect the closures.  Fire managers from Florida Fire Service arrived yesterday and were assimilated into the current fire command. They were in-briefed about the current fire status at 8:00 P.M. last night. Incident Command Post will be at the Elders’ Lodge at Grande...

Springfield, Ore. – Firefighters have been working to protect structures, as well as establish control lines on the Holiday Farm Fire.  At 156,708 acres in size, the fire is currently 0% contained.  Other priorities include clearing roads, such as Highway 126 for responder access to the area.  Yesterday the weather was more favorable to firefighting operation.  Winds decreased to 5-10 mph and the relative humidity was slightly higher than recent days.  Structural crews used the break to establish defensible space around communities, helping to keep these values safe.  Structural and wildland resources have been working in tandem to keep the fire away from homes and businesses. There are currently 17,732 structures threatened by this fire. 425 personnel are now assigned to the fire.  Resources continue to be spread thin across the region and the nation, as many areas have large fire activity.  Local resources, such as cooperators with heavy equipment have been dispatched to...

 Please see attached Whitney Fire

 Please see attached update in PDF

Air quality and smoke summaries can be found below.Complete smoke outlook and can be found here

See attached for air quality

Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs P-515 & Lionshead Fire Update – Friday, September 11, 2020 – 9:00 a.m.   Weather and Fire Behavior: West to northwest winds are expected today, 6-10 mph with gust up to 15 mph.  The easterly transport winds are carrying over smoke to Central and Eastern Oregon not only from the Lionshead Fire but also from the Beachie Creek and Riverside Fires. Temperatures will be in the mid 70-80’s with very low relative humidity. Extreme drought and dry fuels continue give the east side of the crest equal potential for extreme fire behavior. Current Situation: Crews working the eastern side of The Lionshead Fire located on the Warm Springs Reservation, continued to make great progress widening containment lines with strategic firing operations yesterday. Securing the eastern edges of the fire is critical in long term containment of the fire with the changing of the wind pattern to an easterly flow. Air resources supported the crews all day with...

(Lincoln County, Washington) – The Whitney Fire is located six miles northwest of the town of Davenport, WA. Fire is burning in timber, sagebrush, range and farmlands. State Route 2 runs through the northern portion of the fire but remains open to traffic at this time. Approximately 4 primary structures were destroyed during the fire. Fire officials continue to assess the total loss to primary and secondary structures (outbuildings, haybarns, fences, etc.). Some ranchers have lost livestock. Yesterday: Several Lincoln County Fire Districts and the Type 3 Interagency Team 3 worked together to secure firelines around the perimeter with a surge force (extra firefighting resources) focused on the area nearest Highway 21. Within the fireline, areas of unburned fuels north of State Route 2 and surrounding areas continued to burn. Water drops by a helicopter and ground crews successfully worked to cool any flare ups. Firelines continued to be secured and patrolled. Today: Weather for this...

Public briefing: Archie Creek Fire Officials will hold a virtual public briefing today, Friday, Sept. 11, 2020 at 2:00 pm. This will be a live stream video information briefing regarding the fire affecting several communities in Douglas County. Please check the Archie Creek Fire Information Facebook page for a link to the live video beginning at 1:55 pm. The briefing will begin at 2:00 pm.Current Situation: The Archie Creek Fire burning east of Roseburg is now 115,857 acres with 0% contained. It is burning in the North Umpqua drainage on the west slope of the Cascades. Today fire managers will continue assessment of the fire. They are working with local fire departments on structural protection and fire line construction as weather conditions allow. Line construction continues on west and southwest flanks, utilizing heavy equipment in cooperation with local timber companies. ODOT is working to clear Highway 138 E for fire traffic only. Pacific power is working to restore and protect...

Beachie Creek Fire Update for Friday September 11, 2020Brian Gales, Incident Commander, NWIMT13Les Hallman, Incident Commander, OSFMStart date: Aug, 16, 2020Location: Santiam Canyon west of Detroit, OR, Southern Clackamas CountyCause: UnknownFire size: 186,856 AcresAir Assets Assigned: 7Total personnel: 487Salem, Ore. – Firefighters spent yesterday morning mopping up areas along the southern fire front along the Highway 22 corridor. Crews were successful in establishing anchor points in the Mehama and Lyons area where significantly less fire growth occurred. Crews then transition to doing structure protection in Silver Falls State Park and the areas of Drake’s Crossing and Scott’s Mills. Structural protection and assessment were also done along the Abiqua drainage while additional crews established anchor points to limit rapid fire spread. As the fire continued north, work was performed along the northwest and northern fire fronts. Extremely dry condition fueled continued...

   South Obenchain Fire Update   Northwest Incident Management Team 8, Incident Commander, Doug Johnson Oregon State Fire Marshal Incident Management Blue Team, Incident Commander, Scott Magers September 11, 2020 - 8:00 AM Northwest Incident Management Team 8, Incident Commander Doug Johnson, and Oregon State Fire Marshal Incident Management Blue Team, Incident Commander Scott Magers, are in unified command, in management of the South Obenchain Fire. The incident command post is located at the Scenic Middle School in Central Point and a base camp is located at the Jackson County Expo Park. The life and safety of the public and all wildland fire responders is always the number one priority for all fire agencies.  To keep firefighters and communities healthy and safe, all firefighters are asked to follow recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reduce the spread of illness.  This also includes limited entry into the incident command post and base...

September 11, 2020 Morning Update Acres: 130,049 based on Infrared flight                                                  Percent Containment: 0% Start Date: September 8, 2020                                                                    Cause: Human-caused Origin Location: 2 miles SE of Estacada, OR                                          Fuels: Timber, Grass, Rugged Terrain Total Personnel: 178 total personnel including 6 crews, 8 engines, 1 dozer     Effective at 6 a.m. today, the Southwest Area Type 1 Incident Management Team #1 is in unified command of the Riverside Fire with the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office.   “Firefighters will implement a value-driven strategy that utilizes a mix of tactics (direct, indirect and point-protection) when and where the probability of success is high, and the risk is...