InciWeb Articles & Incidents for Washington and Oregon

Weather: Mostly sunny today with areas of smoke. Westerly and terrain driven winds (4-8 mph with gusts to 14 mph on ridges) will prevail in the afternoon, with winds shifting northeasterly overnight. High pressure will build over the area early in the week, with warming and drying conditions. Yesterday’s Activities: Firelines on the northern half of the fire, consisting of dozer lines and local road systems, continue to hold as crews proceeded to further secure the lines, mop up and patrol. On the southeastern side of the fire, east of Cole Creek, crews continued using low intensity hand ignition to bring fire down a ridge line almost to Indian Creek, where they secured the fire in a rocky area for the night. Aerial ignition was used to remove some of the fuels between this area and the main fire body to reduce the potential for the fire to run to the east. Aerial resources were used to hold the fire in place on the southwestern edge, while assessing opportunities for...

Miriam Fire Update Fire Information Line: 541-786-0489 August 6, 2018 – 9 a.m. Acres: 1,106 acres Percent Containment: 5% Start Date: 07/30/18 Personnel/Resources: Four 20-person crews, 3 helicopters (others available, as needed), 14 engines, 1 dozer, 254 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 Warming and Drying Trend Forecasted for the Week Current Activity: Fire behavior at the Miriam Fire was moderated yesterday, as the area continued to dry from Saturday’s thunderstorms. Firefighters worked to improve Forest Road (FR) 540 in the northeast and and FR 1207 on the east flank as future fireline. Good progress was made on structure protection around the Clear Lake organizational camps with additional pumps, hoses and sprinklers installed. Fire...

Crescent Mountain and Gilbert FiresCrescent Mountain and Gilbert Fires (August 6, 2018 7:00 a.m.)Crescent Mountain Fire: 7,671 acres (0% contained)Gilbert Fire: 38 acres Personnel: 221Location: Approximately 16 miles west of the town of TwispStart Date: July 28, 2018 Cause: Lightning Current Activity: Fire activity was moderate yesterday with the Crescent Fire continuing to be active near Williams Creek. The Gilbert Fire is exhibiting no fire activity with little smoke being produced. Firefighters continue to work to widen existing roads, evaluate ingress and egress routes, and prepare around homes and other structures should the fire progress to those locations. The fire edge is currently 4.9 miles away from the closest structure in the Twisp River drainage.Evacuations: There is currently a Level 2 evacuation notice for residents above the road closure at the intersection of Buttermilk Road and Twisp River Road. A Level 2 evacuation notice means residents should be prepared to leave...

COMMUNITY MEETINGS: There will be two Hendrix Fire Community Meetings next week. The first one will be held at 7 pm on Wednesday, August 8, 2018, at Ashland Middle School, 100 Walker Avenue, Ashland, Oregon. The second meeting will start at 7 pm on Friday, August, 10, 2018, 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 tour of the fire camp.Sunday will see the return of high temperatures and smoky conditions. Low temperatures will be in the mid-50s, and high temperatures are forecasted to be in the low 90s. Generally expect northwest around 6 mph in the afternoon. Active fire behavior on many of the fires in southwest Oregon will provide smoke to the area.The fire’s containment date remains difficult to fully project. Firefighters have reviewed conditions on the ground and determined that the containment date should be readjusted to August 31. This is due to many factors...

Community Meeting Tonight: There will be a Fire Information meeting tonight, Monday, August 6, 2018 at 6:00 pm at the Selma Community and Education Center, 18255 Redwood Highway, Selma. Weather and Fire Behavior: A warming, drying trend will occur Tuesday through Thursday. A low pressure system moving into the area on Friday will bring cooler temperatures, but also higher winds and a potential increase in fire activity. Expect increasingly heavy smoke through Thursday mid-day when the frontal passage begins. Yesterday’s Activities: Crews continued to work reopening some of the Biscuit firelines on the fire’s northwest edge as well as identifying structure protection needs near Agness. On the fire’s eastern flank, weather conditions did not allow aerial firing operations as planned. However, ground crews conducted firing operations, gaining valuable ground on the primary containment line. Crews also continued to patrol, mop-up and monitor burnouts on the primary...

Summary: The Miles, Columbus, Snowshoe and Round Top Fires are being managed under unified command amongst the Northern Rockies Team 2 (Turman), the Oregon Department of Forestry Team 1 (Hessel) and Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Red Team (Yocum). These incidents are formally known as the South Umpqua Complex and Sugar Pine Fires. Smoky conditions across the area on Sunday helped to temper winds and moderate fire behavior. Firefighters used this break to make good progress on lining spot fires and strengthening control lines around the incident. The smoky conditions did limit air operations on fires yesterday, due to low visibility. Community Meetings: The IMTs will be hosting a community meeting in Tiller on Wednesday, August 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the Tiller Rural Fire Protection District, 27598 Tiller Trail Hwy. There will also be a community meeting in Shady Cove on Thursday, August 9 at 6:30 p.m. at the Upper Rogue Community Center, 22465 Hwy 62. Miles Fire: Firefighters continued...

Hamma Hamma, WA – The Maple fire is located west of Highway 101, northwest of Hamma Hamma. The fire is burning in heavy timber, 200ft trees, mature cedar spruce fir trees. Elk Lake trail runs through the middle of the fire and Jefferson Creek runs at the bottom of the fire. The fire is in a remote location and steep terrain. Resources have been ordered but due to a busy fire season, resources are in high demand across the region. Participating agencies in fighting this wildfire include the Olympic National Forest and Washington State Department of Natural Resources. Western Washington Incident Management Team (WWIMT) led by Kent Stanford, Incident Commander, assumed command of the Maple fire on August 6 at 6:00 pm. Management of this fire has allowed local emergency resources to return to their immediate jurisdictions. The Maple fire has burned 70+ acres, is 5 percent contained and has roughly 50 personnel currently working the fire. Air resources have been requested to assist with...

“On Tuesday we got the call and by Thursday we had mobilized to the Sheep Creek Fire in northern Stevens County” said 1st Lt. Courtney Wirth, 176th Engineer Company Washington Army National Guard. Ms. Wirth is on her second firefighting deployment and some of her fellow soldiers are on their third firefighting assignment since 2015. These troops are becoming seasoned firefighters and have brought that experience to fireline. At the Sheep Creek fire, Wirth participated in burn-out operations the past two days. Burn-out operations require a heightened sense of situational awareness, for example, when she noticed a tree burning in the roots and leaning, she moved her crew away from it, and alerted firefighters to the dangerous situation. After 12-14 hours on the fireline, National Guard crews return to fire camp at the school in Northport, WA, where many soldiers told us they enjoy excellent food from the DNR mobile kitchen. The Incident Management Teams appreciate the experience,...

Below are locations where Taylor Creek Fire information is distributed to the public. Many of the locations have information boards and Public Information Officers visit daily to update the the information and answer questions any questions the public may have. We may add additional locations if necessary. MERLIN Rural Metro Fire Station #1 Monument Drive Lil Pantry Gas 5030 Monument Dr.Rays 3500 Merlin Rd Dollar General 3625 Merlin DrRiffle Café 450 Merlin Dr Shell Station 310 Merlin DrLil Pantry Grocery 148 Merlin Dr Post Office 317 Josephine StCounty Fire Department 220 Peach St River Grill 330 Merlin-Galice RdBaldinis Bar and Grill 107 Merlin-Galice Rd Whitewater Cowboys 210 Merlin RdBlackbird Real Estate 190 Galice Rd Victoria’s Station 120 Galice RdMorrison’s Rogue Wilderness Adventures 325 Galice Rd GALICE Indian Mary Campground 7100 Galice Rd Morrison Lodge 8500 Galice RdGalice Resort 11744 Galice Rd Rand/Smullin Information Center 14335 Galice Rd ...

Fire Evacuation Level Change: Galice Creek and Galice Road Area8/5/18 @ 3:30 pmDETAILS:Due to planned firefighting operations for the Taylor Creek Fire, the Josephine CountySheriff's Office is issuing a Level 3 “GO” evacuation notice for the following residences:Galice Creek Road:801, 753 and 402Galice Road:11411, 11407 and

The Southwest Oregon Joint Information Center has released the update for August

Firefighters on the Garner Complex are working diligently toward handing the management of the fire back to the local Oregon Dept. of Forestry district. Last night, crews used palm-held infrared scanners to detect pockets of heat near containment lines. Extinguishing the hot spots became the top priority for today’s crews on mop operations. The northern portion of the fire remains in patrol status. Crews began pulling hose lays and returning it to the incident base. Yesterday, fire crews returned over a mile of hose. Today, fire managers report that nearly four miles of hose is ready for backhaul to the incident base. In addition to winding down the Garner Complex, fire managers also support initial attack on new incidents near the fire. Yesterday, firefighters on the Garner Complex responded to a 2.5 acre fire on land protected by the Oregon Dept. of Forestry. The new start was quickly suppressed. Today’s operations include more mop up operations. Crews continue to find hot...

The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office announced that all Level 3 restrictions in Entiat Valley are being reduced to Level 2 at noon on August 5, 2018. Level 2 evacuations are in effect from Mad River Road north to mile post 24.5 The immediate threat to residents in the area has decreased, but there is enough of a fire presence in the area to maintain Level 2. Be aware that fire conditions can change quickly and necessitate Level 3 restrictions being reinstated. North of the Level 2 evacuations (mile post 24.5) Forest Service campgrounds remain closed and the Forest closure order remains in effect. Visit https://bit.ly/2Mkk2lX for more

Bear Camp Road and Rogue River Closures as of Saturday Aug 4, 2018; 10:00 a.m. The following list summarizes closure information related to the Bear Camp Road system and Rogue River only, as reported by the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, Medford District Bureau of Land Management, Oregon State Marine Board, and Josephine County Sheriff’s Office Please note that this does not list other area closures in the vicinity of the Taylor Fire, nor does it indicate evacuations. Closures and evacuations are dynamic. Know before you go and double-check the official sources. · Galice Access/Bear Camp Road (FS 23) from Agness (FS 33) to Galice o No access to Peavine Rd · Burnt Ridge Road (FS 2308) from FS 33 to Bear Camp · Rogue River from Dunn Riffle to Galice · All boat ramps along the river between Galice and Whitehorse Park o Hog Creek Ramp is open for take-out o Galice Ramp is open for put-in · BLM-administered lands and recreation sites from Hog Creek to...

The Northern Rockies Incident Management Team, in unified command with Oregon Department of Forestry and the Oregon State Fire Marshal, assumed command of South Umpqua Complex and the Sugar Pine Fires today at 6:00 a.m. On Saturday, Miles Fire expanded once again to the southeast, as the fire on the north slope of Burnt Peak reached the ridge top and was spotting ahead onto the south slope. A finger of fire also spread toward Bailey Butte. On the west side, fire crossed the east-west line at Alco Rock. Helicopters and airplanes dropped water and retardant on the fire while crews burned out from the line in an attempt to stop the fire, but it spotted ahead and ultimately the line was lost. The West Branch of Elk Creek is now the primary containment line for the southwestern portion of the fire. In the northwestern portion of the fire, some heat remains in the interior and fire is consuming unburned fuel, while mop-up and snag-felling continues along the edges. Hand-held infrared...

The Grayback Road remains open, but expect up to 30 minute traffic delays.

YESTERDAY: Crews, engines and dozers were making good progress constructing direct fireline around the fire perimeter. Air resources were active across the fire today, including a Very Large Air Tanker (VLAT), smaller fixed wing tankers and helicopters. Firefighters, along with members of the Lincoln County Fire Districts, continued to assess and evaluate structures ahead of the fire. Strategic firing operations were completed along the western flank of the fire. Night operations were conducted primarily along the southern flank of the fire to take advantage of cooler temperatures and higher humidity in fighting the fire. TODAY: The Eastern Area Incident Management Team will begin managing the Angel Springs Fire today. The Northeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team was instrumental in providing a smooth transition of command through their dedicated work and attention to detail. The focus of today’s operations will be constructing and...

Miriam Fire Update Fire Information Line: 541-786-0489 August 5, 2018 – 9 a.m. Acres: 1,034 acres (acreage increase primarily the result of new Infrared mapping data) Percent Containment: 0% Start Date: 07/30/18 Personnel/Resources: Three 20-person crews, 2 helicopter (others available, as needed), 14 engines, 1 dozer, 229 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 A public meeting will be held today at 2 pm at the White Pass Village Inn to provide current updates on the Miriam Fire and associated evacuations and closures Current Activity: Subtle warming and drying increased fire activity yesterday until later in the afternoon when a thunderstorm passed through the area, wetting portions of the Fire. In addition, there was numerous lightning strikes along...

he Smoke Outlook for southwest Oregon has been released for August