InciWeb Articles & Incidents for Washington and Oregon

Acreage: 40,105 Containment: 40 percent Personnel: 1008 Community meeting TODAY in Entiat Chelan County Fire District #8, Station #1 (2200 Entiat Way) at 6:00 p.m. Cougar Creek Fire: A Red Flag warning is in effect today across the fire area. This means that firefighters can expect a combination of winds, low humidity and warm temperatures. Yesterday, crews were able to begin low intensity burnout operations along the western edge of the fire, strengthening the primary containment line. Smoke lifted again which provided opportunities for aircraft to support firefighters on the ground using both water and retardant. Helicopters were able to drop over 280,000 gallons of water once the smoke lifted. When conditions allow, crews will continue the low intensity burnout operations along the western edge of the fire. Along the southern and eastern sides of the fire, crews continue to mop-up and monitor the fire-line. Crews will continue to assess structures in...

Miriam Fire Update Fire Information Line: 360-481-0031 August 23, 2018 – 9 a.m. Acres: Miriam Fire – 4025; Clear Fork Fire -47 Percent Containment: 30% Start Date: 07/30/18 Personnel/Resources: 2-Type 2 hand crews, 3 Type 2 IA hand crews, 1-camp crew, 1- heavy lift helicopter, 1-medium lift helicopter, 1-light lift helicopter, 11-engines, 1-dozer, 4-water tenders, 3-mastacators and 1-forwarder processor for 307 total personnel. Location: Two miles east of White Pass Ski Area, within the Goat Rocks Wilderness on the Naches Ranger District, 13 miles east of Packwood, WA. Cause: Lightning Values at Risk: White Pass area and ski resort; homes and organizational camps at Clear and Rimrock Lakes; Wilderness; late successional reserve; northern spotted owl and other wildlife habitat; bull trout habitat; and state highway 12. Estimated Incident Containment or completion: 9/30/2018 Smoke Information: Smoke concentrations in the area have lifted with increased winds and instability....

Special Statement This air quality forecast predicts potential particulate matter levels, not ozone. Forecast is based on 24 hour average. South Umpqua Complex includes Miles, Columbus, Round top, and Snowshoe fires. Fire The Columbus and Miles fires are continuing to burn toward each other burning dead/down fuel and drying out live fuel. South Umpqua Complex is currently at 45% containment. Watson Creek fire is burning heavy fuel, primarily dead and down lodge pole pine and is at 10% containment. Smoke With the cold front coming in today, we should expect to see an improvement to the air quality later today. However, smoke will continue to linger the valleys. Those communities close to the fire will continue to see some significant impacts while the fire is still burning. Please note that while the forecast will be rated as Unhealthy for many communities, air quality is trending down to Unhealthy for Sensitive Group (orange) in Medford and Ashland

Evacuation Level Lowered The evacuation level for Illinois River Rd. has been lowered from a Level 3 “Go” to a Level 2 “Be Set” for residences above milepost 2.5 up to and including McCaleb Ranch. Residences below milepost 2.5 to US Hwy 199 remain on a Level 1 “Be Ready” notice. The section of road from McCaleb Ranch through Oak Flat will remain on a Level 3 “Go” notice. Transfer of Command Northwest Team 12, a Type 2 incident management team, has been ordered to replace the Alaska Incident Management Team when it completes its 14-day assignment on Saturday. NW Team 12 will in-brief today at the Lake Selmac incident command post in Selma and the transfer of command will take place on Saturday. Taylor Creek Fire and Klondike Fire East The Alaska Interagency Incident Management Team is managing the Taylor Creek Fire and Klondike Fire East. Smoke continues to temper fire behavior on Klondike Fire East by shading the fire and keeping temperatures cooler than...

TONIGHT at 6 p.m. there will be a Community Meeting at the Tiller RFPD Fire Station, 27598 Tiller-Trail Highway, Tiller OR. This meeting will be filmed and a video will be posted on Facebook and InciWeb. The Oregon Department of Forestry responded to the Ramsey Canyon Fire which started yesterday near Sam’s Valley in Jackson County. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office issued both Level 3 “GO” and Level 2 “BE SET” Evacuations. A current map of evacuation levels is at https://tinyurl.com/SO-Evacs. Firefighters, helicopters and engines assigned to the Miles and Columbus Fires were sent to assist. Today, a Type 1 Incident Management Team from the Oregon Department of Forestry with a team from the Oregon State Fire Marshal will take command of this fire. Burning operations continued yesterday along the 6640 Road to secure the eastern edge of the fire. Work to strengthen and secure this area will continue. Weather and fuel conditions put...

Evacuation Level Lowered The evacuation level for Illinois River Rd. has been lowered from a Level 3 “Go” to a Level 2 “Be Set” for residences above milepost 2.5 up to and including McCaleb Ranch. Residences below milepost 2.5 to US Hwy 199 remain on a Level 1 “Be Ready” notice. The section of road from McCaleb Ranch through Oak Flat will remain on a Level 3 “Go” notice. Transfer of Command Northwest Team 12, a Type 2 incident management team, has been ordered to replace the Alaska Incident Management Team when it completes its 14-day assignment on Saturday. NW Team 12 will in-brief today at the Lake Selmac incident command post in Selma and the transfer of command will take place on Saturday. Taylor Creek Fire and Klondike Fire East The Alaska Interagency Incident Management Team is managing the Taylor Creek Fire and Klondike Fire East. Smoke continues to temper fire behavior on Klondike Fire East by shading the fire and keeping temperatures cooler than...

QuickFacts:Incident Start Date: 8/22/2018Incident Start Time: Approx. 12:45 p.m.Incident Type: WildfireCause: Under InvestigationIncident Location: near Sams Valley, Jackson County, OregonLand Threat: Private, BLM, IndustrialCommand Agency: ODF/OSFMFire Size: 800 acresContainment: 15%Civilian Injuries: 0Firefighter Injuries: 0Structures Threatened: 211Structures Destroyed: 0Structures Damaged: 0 Current Situation:Overnight, firefighters were able to complete a combination of dozer line and hand line around roughly 30-percent of the Ramsey Canyon Fire’s perimeter. Spot fires continued to be an issue overnight due to the dense landscape and steep terrain.Structural task forces stayed out all night protecting homes and making assessments for any potential changes in evacuation levels. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office will remain the source for accurate and timely notification releases.Today’s weather forecast includes a chance of gusty winds similar to yesterday evening....

Update-August 23, 2018 For Immediate Release Incident Commanders: Ian Yocum, Oregon State Fire Marshal & Eric Knerr, Northwest Team 7 Contact: Rich Tyler, OSFM/Jeanne Klein, NW Team 7 541-239-3619 Follow Fire Information on Facebook Pages: Gilliam County Sheriff https://www.facebook.com/GilliamCountySheriff/ South Gilliam County Rural Fire Protection District https://www.facebook.com/South-Gilliam-County-Rural-Fire-Protection-District-783137915065669/?ref=br_rs [Condon, Oregon] There will be a community meeting tonight at the Condon Fire Station, 220 N. Main Street, at 5:30 p.m. Last night, firefighters continued to mop up and patrol the firelines around the Stubblefield Fire, looking for, and extinguishing any smoke or fire near the fireline. Today, the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office team will be returning to their home jurisdictions, due to the diminished risk to homes in Gilliam County. The wildland incident management team, NW Team 7, will continue to work...

Update-August 23, 2018 For Immediate Release Incident Commanders: Ian Yocum, Oregon State Fire Marshal & Eric Knerr, Northwest Team 7 Contact: Rich Tyler, OSFM/Jeanne Klein, NW Team 7 541-239-3619 Follow Fire Information on Facebook Pages: Gilliam County Sheriff https://www.facebook.com/GilliamCountySheriff/ South Gilliam County Rural Fire Protection District https://www.facebook.com/South-Gilliam-County-Rural-Fire-Protection-District-783137915065669/?ref=br_rs [Condon, Oregon] There will be a community meeting tonight at the Condon Fire Station, 220 N. Main Street, at 5:30 p.m. Last night, firefighters continued to mop up and patrol the firelines around the Stubblefield Fire, looking for, and extinguishing any smoke or fire near the fireline. Today, the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office team will be returning to their home jurisdictions, due to the diminished risk to homes in Gilliam County. The wildland incident management team, NW Team 7, will continue to work...

COMMUNITY MEETING SCHEDULED for Stubblefield and Seale Fires - Thursday August 23, 2018 at 5:30 pm. Meeting is located at South Gilliam RFPD Station, 220 North Street, Condon. Questions and concerns will be answered and addressed!

For the News Release and Map of the Closure area around the Horn Mt. Fire in the Wedge area of the Colville NF go to the Images tab and click on the PDF of the Closure. The pdf is two pages including the news release and the

QuickFacts:Incident Start Date: 8/22/2018Incident Start Time: Approx. 12:45 p.m.Incident Type: WildfireCause: Under InvestigationIncident Location: near Sams Valley, Jackson County, OregonLand Threat: Private, BLM, IndustrialCommand Agency: ODF/OSFMFire Size: 600 acresContainment: 0%Expected Full Containment: N/ACivilian Injuries: 0Firefighter Injuries: 0Structures Threatened: 211Structures Destroyed: 0Structures Damaged: 0Current Situation:Extreme fire behavior and gusty ridgetop and canyon winds caused the Ramsey Canyon Fire to spread rapidly just before sundown. The fire is estimated to have grown a few hundred acres within the last two hours of daylight. The current fire size is approximately 600 acres.Currently, night shift resources will continue to attack the fire directly and construct fire line along the flanks of the fire. Access to the fire has been difficult from the start. Dozers will continue to build access roads, as well as contingency lines. While aircraft cannot be...

Improved visibility continued today, allowing aerial resources to be utilized in support of burning operations to reinforce containment lines on the western edge of the fire. Aerial ignition is being used in conjunction with crews hand firing on the ground to continue burning out vegetation between containment lines and the fire. The aerial ignitions are accomplished with a low-flying helicopter equipped with plastic sphere dispenser (PSD) or “ping pong ball” technology. PSD allows fire to be introduced into areas that are too steep or exposed for firefighters on the ground to access. The balls are filled with potassium permanganate and then injected with glycol and dropped in strategic locations. Once on the ground, a chemical reaction within the balls creates fire, causing vegetation on the ground to ignite under the right

Gilliam County Sheriff has lowered Evacuation Levels as follows: Stubblefield Fire - Gilliam County has lowered the evacuation level for Richmond Lane, Pattee Road to Level 2, BE SET! The evacuation level for Buckhorn Lane, Armstrong Road, and Butte Creek Road to Level 1, BE READY!. Lonerock Fire - Gilliam County has lowered the evacuation level for all areas of Lonerock Road and the City of Lonerock to Level 1, BE

Due to the incoming cold front, the winds today have shifted to a western pattern. This is causing increased fire activity on the east side of the fire. Firefighters are currently addressing this. A product of this increase is more smoke.

Fires, smoking, using internal combustion engines, and welding are prohibited with certain exceptions. See the attached PDF for details of where these prohibitions apply and what the exceptions

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office has issued a downgrade from a Level 3 "Go" status to a Level 2 "Be Set" notice for the Illinois River Road from Hwy 199 up to and including McCaleb Ranch. The section from McCaleb Ranch through Oak Flat will remain on a Level 3 "Go" notice. Follow the link below to read the sheriff's press release.

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office has issued a downgrade from a Level 3 "Go" status to a Level 2 "Be Set" notice for the Illinois River Road from Hwy 199 up to and including McCaleb Ranch.The section from McCaleb Ranch through Oak Flat will remain on a Level 3 "Go" notice. Follow the link below to read the sheriff's press release.