InciWeb Articles & Incidents for Washington and Oregon

Community Meeting Schedule for All Area Fires (Miles Fire, Columbus, Snow Shoe, and Round Top Fires)All Meetings are at 6:30 p.m.Wednesday, August 8 - Tiller Rural Fire Protection District, 27598 Tiller Trail HighwayThursday, August 9 - Upper Rogue Community Center, Shady Cove, 22465 Highway 62Friday, August 10 - Prospect Community Center, 395 Red Blanket Road

The Smoke Outlook for southwest Oregon has been released for August 8,

Garner Complex fires approach 100% patrol status. At noon tomorrow the Southwest Oregon District will assume command of the fire from Florida’s Red Team. Last night, crews with palm-held infrared scanners continued to seek out remaining pockets of heat. Last night hot spots were isolated to a few areas and they were well inside containment lines. Today, crews will hit those hot spots hard and put them to rest. Also today, crews will haul pumps, hose and other fire line equipment down the mountain. “Our crews have been successful at seeking and destroying hot spots,” says Fred Boehm, Chief of Operations “and we’re leaving some suppression equipment there, in case any further mop up is needed.” None of the hot spots pose a threat to the fire’s control lines, and the hose and pumps at the perimeter will be available if a hot spot ever needs attention. Crews and their camp support teams continue to be released from assignment, making them available to support other fires in...

Community Meeting: There will be a Fire Information meeting at 6:00 pm, Thursday, August 9th, at the Grange in Happy Camp. Weather: Continued hot, sunny weather and low humidity with areas of smoke due to high pressure over the area. Winds will be light out of the northeast in the morning at 3 to 5 mph with gusts up to 8 mph in the afternoon. Ridge winds will progress from NW to NE through the day. A low pressure system will increase winds on Thursday afternoon and Friday while providing somewhat cooler temperatures. Yesterday’s Activities: Firefighters continued to hold, mop up and patrol firelines on the entire north half of the fire. This portion of the fire becomes more secure each day. Yesterday’s work focused on mop up and control on the south and east sides of the fire in anticipation of windier conditions on Thursday afternoon and Friday. Limited low intensity hand ignition was used in the southeast part of the fire to secure the area. A 2.3 acre spot fire north of Kelly...

Dufur, OR - Current Status: Crews continued to locate and mark problem hotspots during the night shift while they patrolled the perimeter of the fire line. Today crews will dig those identified areas out and making sure all heat is gone. As the fire fighters gain control of the fire, resources such as crews, engines and aircraft will be slowly released over the next few days to return home or be reassigned to another fire. Crews today were told to pace themselves, drink lots of water and to watch out for each other. This is true every day on the fire line, but especially so today with the forecasted weather.Weather Forecast: An Excessive Heat Watch remains in effect for Wednesday through Thursday. High pressure will bring another day of hot and dry conditions. Temperatures will reach 100-102 and relative humidity will lower into the teens for most of the region this afternoon. Expect winds to increase in the afternoon and evening with West-Northwest winds gusting to 15-20 mph....

Galice Road closure lifted at 5:00 pm on August 7, 2018, restoring access to local businesses and boat ramps. Hard work and diligence of crews working the fire line in this area allowed the road to open to all traffic and the river to all recreation. Crews from the Oregon Fire Marshal’s office continue to patrol the area and protect structures. Firefighters continue to attack the Taylor Creek and Klondike fires. Wherever rollout occurs firefighters use safe tactics to attack and contain the fire. Patrolling crews quickly respond to these situations. Construction of the contingency lines steadily progresses. Crews working the Taylor Creek fire made significant progress completing the Peavine Road contingency line. Firefighters are continuing to monitor the fireline along Galice Road. The Bear Creek fire line progresses as planned. FS Road 2402 contingency line was completed. Oregon National Guard continues their thorough sweep and internal mop up of the eastern fire line. ...

Miriam Fire Daily Update, August 8, 2018Acres: 1,242 Percent Containment: 9% Start Date: 07/30/18 Personnel/Resources: Six 20-person crews, 3 helicopters (others available, as needed), 26 engines, 2 dozers, 363 total personnel Location: Two miles east of White Pass Ski Area, within the Goat Rocks Wilderness on the Naches Ranger District, 32 miles southwest of Naches, WA. Cause: Lightning Estimated Incident Containment or completion: 9/1/2018 Australian Forces Join the Effort at the Miriam Fire Current Activity: Conditions at the fire became hotter and dryer yesterday and as a result, the fire became more active. Helicopter bucket drops were used to slow the spread of the fire around the perimeter, including the Miriam Creek headwaters. At 5 pm firefighters began a strategic burning operation just north of Hell Creek that will tie the fire into the old Twin Peaks Fire scar and help anchor this important containment line just south of Clear Lake. Heavy equipment completed work...

Summary: The containment date has changed to reflect the combination of all the fires. Containment is defined as the status of a wildfire suppression action signifying that a control line has been completed around the fire, as well as any associated spot fires, which can reasonably be expected to stop the fire’s spread. A new Inciweb site will be created for the Miles Fire (including Miles, Columbus, Snow Shoe and Round Top Fires) The South Umpqua Complex and Sugar Pine Fires will no longer be update on Inciweb. For the latest information check: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6112/ Community Meetings: The Unified Command IMTs will be hosting three community meetings in the area this week. Wednesday, August 8: Tiller Rural Fire Protection District, 27598 Tiller Trail Highway, Tiller 6:30 p.m. Thursday, August 9: Upper Rogue Community Center 22465 Highway 62, Shady Cove 6:30 p.m. Friday, August 10: Prospect Community Center, 305 Red Blanket Road, Prospect 6:30 p.m. Miles Fire:...

Northport, WA - PUBLIC AND FIRE FIGHTER SAFETY IS THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY. The NE Washington Type 3 Incident Management Team asks the public to avoid Sheep Creek road and surrounding areas due to fire apparatus. The Sheep Creek fire started on July 30, 2018 in north Stevens County near the town of Northport. The fire perimeter and acreage remain within the boundaries of Flagstaff and Sheep Creek roads and is comprised of mixed conifer with pockets of logging slash and standing dead timber. Crews made good progress on the perimeter yesterday. Engines, hand crews and falling crews worked together to mop up and put out hot spots. This critical tactic is used to ensure the fire will not extend beyond the line in the future. The same mop up operations continue today, and smoke will be visible. Air support will be used if necessary to assist firefighters on the ground. Five 20-person crews of Washington National Guard soldiers and airmen and women are integrated with fire crews on...

Cougar Creek, Lost, Bannock Lakes, and Whitepine Fires Wednesday, August 8, 2018 Fire Information: Phone: 509-664-9210 Email: cougarcreekfireinfo2018@gmail.com Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6053/ Facebook: facebook.com/CougarCreekFire Community Meeting: There will be a community meeting Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Plain Community Church in Plain where members of California Interagency Incident Management Team 5 will provide an update on the Cougar Creek and Lost Fires. Cougar Creek Fire: The Cougar Creek Fire is 20 miles northwest of Entiat and is reported at 9,178 acres. A total of 811 personnel, including 20 crews, 4 aircraft, 28 engines and 12 bulldozers are being shared between the Cougar Creek and Lost Fires. Favorable weather conditions Tuesday resulted in minimal fire activity and little further movement of the fire into Grandma Creek. Some of the increase in acreage and smoke observed was due to burnout operations on the east side of the fire. Crews,...

YESTERDAY: The warming and drying trend continued to set in over the fire, providing extreme conditions for the firefighters on the line. Fire managers focused resources on areas of the fire that have retained heat. Ground crews continued to stretch hoselays in to the interior portions of the fire for intense mop up. Aerial resources were used to cool pockets of heat to support firefighters on the ground. Structure protection firefighters utilized a National Park Service watercraft for access to residences along the waterfront to install hose and reduce fuels. Night operations patrolled the containment lines to ensure fire was held within the lines. TODAY: Haze and areas of smoke are forecasted for the area today. Firefighters will be gridding off of the containment lines during mop up to ensure there are no hidden hot spots. Gridding is a tactic where firefighters are assigned box like geographic areas with the responsibility of confirming the area is cool with no...

Crescent Mountain and Gilbert Fires (August 8, 2018 9:00 a.m.)● Crescent Mountain Fire: 11,262 acres (0% contained)● Gilbert Fire: 38 acres● Personnel: 462● Location: Headwaters of the Twisp River● Start Date: July 28, 2018● Cause: LightningA public information meeting is scheduled for tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the Methow Valley Community Center in Twisp. Incident Summary:Fire activity increased yesterday with the Crescent Mountain Fire pushing west and northeast into the Lake Chelan Sawtooth Wilderness. Firefighters conducted a tactical firing operation of about 100 acres on the north side of War Creek Ridge. Last night’s infrared flight indicated the fire’s size was approximately 11,262 acres. The Gilbert Fire is holding at 38 acres with no observed fire activity. Firefighters continue to work to widen existing roads utilizing heavy equipment, evaluating ingress and egress routes, and creating defensible space around homes and other structures. The southern fire edge...

Maple Fire Forest Closer Order No. 06-09-18-08 from August 8, 2018. For details see the original Fire Restriction

COMMUNITY MEETINGS: There will be a Hendrix Fire Community Meeting tonight at 7 pm. It will be held at The Commons (room), Ashland Middle School, 100 Walker Avenue, Ashland, Oregon. A second meeting will be held on Friday, August, 10, 2018, starting at 7 pm at the Hendrix Fire Incident Command Post located at the intersection of Highway 238 and Hamilton Road in Ruch, Oregon. This meeting will be followed by a short tour of the fire camp. Both meetings will be streamed on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/HendrixFire2018/.Hotter and dryer conditions will continue in southwest Oregon through Thursday. Maximum temperatures near the fire will be in the mid-80s while temperatures at lower elevations will be in the triple digits. Winds will be calm in the morning and then becoming northwest around 5-7 mph in the afternoon. The National Weather Service has issued a Heat Advisory for Wednesday and Thursday for unseasonable hot conditions.Crews spent today patrolling the fire’s perimeter as...

Hamma Hamma, WA – The Maple fire is located 23 miles North of Shelton, WA, above the community of Hamma Hamma. The fire is burning in steep terrain South of the Jefferson Ridge Line and North of Jefferson Creek. Elk Lake trail runs through the middle of the fire. Resources have been ordered and continue to arrive to assist with managing the Maple Fire. Participating agencies in fighting this wildfire include the Olympic National Forest and Washington State Department of Natural Resources. Northwest Interagency Incident Management Team 10 (NWT10) led by Alan Lawson, Incident Commander, assumed command of the Maple Fire from Western Washington Incident Management Team on August 8, 2018 at 6:00 am. The Maple fire has burned 411 acres, is 5 percent contained and has roughly 160 personnel currently working the fire. Air National Guard from Fort Lewis are currently flying Blackhawk Helicopters assisting with holding the Eastern flank of the fire as well as keeping the fire South of the...

Maple Fire Forest Closer Order No. 06-09-18-09 from August 7, 2018.For details see the original closer order.

Natchez Fire facebook information can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/NatchezFires2018/

The new email for the Natchez Fire is

Josephine County Sheriff's OfficeFire Evacuation Level Changes INCIDENT DATE AND TIME: 8/7/18 at 5:00 pm REPORTING DEPUTY: C. Krauss DETAILS: Due to progress made on the Taylor Creek Fire, the Josephine County Sheriff's Office is issuing a downgrade from a Level 3 “GO” status to a Level 2 “BE SET" status for the following residence at 600 Taylor Creek Road and the following residences on Galice Road 8599, 8585, 8581, 8529, 8519, 8500, 8000, 7185, 7100 and 6755, this includes Indian Mary Park. A Level 2 “BE SET” evacuation means you must be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice. With this downgrade, Galice Road will be opened to all traffic. There will still be firefighting operations in the area, so we would like to remind those travelling in the area to be cautious of firefighters and debris in the roadway. Galice Access Road (Bear Camp Road) will be closed at Galice Road and Taylor Creek Road will be closed in the 600 block of Taylor Creek Road. The closure of the Rogue...