InciWeb Articles & Incidents for Washington and Oregon

South Umpqua Complex/Sugar Pine Fires Update Prospect, Oregon – The South Umpqua Complex/Sugar Pine Fires are now under unified command among the Northern Rockies Team 2, the Oregon Department of Forestry Incident Management Team 1, and the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office. The Oregon National Guard, the Jackson County Sheriff, Oregon State Police, Army Corps of Engineers and Oregon State Parks are cooperators. This update will focus on the Sugar Pine Fires. Starting tomorrow, updates for the South Umpqua Complex and Sugar Pine fires will be combined into one daily update. Due to the threat to structures, Governor Kate Brown has invoked the Conflagration Act for the Sugar Pine Fire. The declaration authorizes the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s office to mobilize firefighters and equipment to assist local resources battling the fire. The State Fire Marshal mobilized 4 task forces to assist with structure assessment. The fire is threatening approximately 317 homes. ...

Crescent Mountain and Gilbert FiresCrescent Mountain and Gilbert Fires (August 5, 2018 7:00 a.m.)Crescent Mountain Acres:7,671Gilbert Acres: 38 Personnel: 180Location: Approximately 21 miles west of the town of TwispStart Date: July 28, 2018 Cause: Lightning Current Activity: There was minimal fire movement last night on the fires. Higher relative humidity and light winds are expected to produce minimal to moderate fire behavior on the fires today. Crews will be constructing contingency firelines and continuing structure protection efforts throughout the day. Three helicopters are currently assigned to the fire to provide air support to the firefighting activities.Southern Area Type1 Red Team has assumed command of the fires this morning. 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. Level 2 means prepare now to go immediately in the event that the evacuation level is...

Dufur, OR – The South Valley Fire is in full mop-up. While the fire has reached 40 percent containment, an overnight infrared flight revealed smoldering hot spots in many areas along the fire’s perimeter. Fire crews will be spending the next few days cooling the edges and well into the fire’s interior. The size of the fire remains 20,026 acres. Today, firefighters will once again be working under more favorable conditions with mild (but warmer) temperatures and light winds. The priority will be cooling hot spots and digging up duff from the perimeter to at least 75 feet into the interior of the fire that will prevent any burning embers from crossing containment lines. Six helicopters are remaining on standby should a new fire start or something from this fire carry over containment lines. Tonight, operations will include mop-up and patrol of containment lines. With the threat to homes diminishing, the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Green Team has demobilized and returned to their...

Size: 38,400 acres Containment: 38%The eastern flank of the Taylor Creek Fire is contained. On the northeast corner, containment extended Saturday from Hog Creek, past Indian Mary Park, nearly to Taylor Creek. Total containment is at 38%.On Saturday, 147 Soldiers and Airmen with the Oregon National Guard arrived to help mop up and patrol the eastern and northeastern perimeter, thoroughly searching for any remaining pockets of heat within 150 feet of the fire’s edge to further strengthen this section of line.Yesterday’s weather was favorable, enabling crews to continue firing operations on the north and northwestern perimeters. Using aerial ignition techniques, firefighters bring slow, low intensity, backing fire down from ridge tops to established lines. Helicopters with water buckets help keep these backing fires at a low intensity. With continued favorable weather today, crews will continue this work. The intent is to keep the fire footprint as small as possible.Firing...

ORDER No. 18-05-010 EMERGENCY FIRE CLOSURE KLAMATH NATIONAL FOREST Pursuant to 16 USC 551 and 36 CFR 261.50(a) and (b), and to provide for public safety, the following acts are prohibited within the Happy Camp/Oak Knoll Ranger District of the Klamath National Forest. This Order is effective from August 5, 2018, until the Natchez Fire is declared out. I. Going into or being upon National Forest System lands within the Natchez Fire Closure Area, as described below and shown on the attached map. The Natchez Fire Closure Area begins at the intersection of Forest Road No. 48 (Grayback Road), the Klamath National Forest boundary and the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest boundary, then continues southeasterly along the western edge of Forest Road No. 48 (Grayback Road) to its intersection with the eastern section line of Section 16 in Township 17 North, Range 7 East, Humboldt Meridian, then continues south along the section line to its intersection with the southeastern corner of...

There will be a Fire Information meeting at 6:00pm tonight (Sunday) August 5, 2018 at the Grange in Happy Camp.

Community Meeting: There will be a Fire Information meeting at 6:00pm tonight (Sunday) August 5, 2018 at the Grange in Happy Camp. Weather and Fire Behavior: Temperatures across the fire area today will be in the high 80’s (valleys) to high 70’s (ridges). Fire behavior will be more active in areas where smoke clears out. Winds will be light, north-northeast, shifting to south-southwest in the afternoon, 5-7 mph, gusting 10-12 mph on ridgetops. Yesterday’s Activities: The north and west sides of the fire continued to hold as crews continued mop up and patrol along the dozer line between the 4810, 012, 4808 roads and along the 060 road. Low intensity burning operations continued south along the dozer line east of the Cole Creek drainage. Crews are continuing to open dozer lines established (during the Eclipse Fire in 2017) south of Indian Creek and will work to tie those lines into the 030 road and back into the Siskiyou Wilderness to the southwest. Night crews focused on...

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...

Cougar Creek, Bannock Lake, and Whitepine Fires Update 08/05/18 Sunday, August 5, 2018 Size: 3837 acres Personnel: 664 Location: 20 miles northwest of Entiat Start Date: July 28, 2018 Cause: Lightning Announcement: There will be a public meeting Sunday at 6:00 p.m. at Entiat’s main fire station (2200 Entiat Way). Personnel from California Interagency Incident Management Team 5, the local fire department, and the US Forest Service will report on the fire’s progress and be available to answer questions. Current Activity: Last night engine crews patrolled the Entiat River Valley and monitored spot fires that got established west of Tyee Ridge on the fire’s eastern perimeter. Moderate growth occurred yesterday. Crews used heavy equipment to reopen the Tyee Lookout Road (Forest Road 5700) to gain better access to the spot fires on the eastern perimeter. Air operations dropped water on the spot fires near Tyee Lookout and in Young Creek. Pockets of unburned...

Community Meeting Tomorrow Night: There will be a Fire Information meeting at 6:00 pm, Monday, August 6, 2018 at the Selma Community and Education Center, 18255 Redwood Highway.

Community Meeting Tomorrow Night: There will be a Fire Information meeting at 6:00 pm, Monday, August 6, 2018 at the Selma Community and Education Center, 18255 Redwood Highway. Weather and Fire Behavior: Today will be similar to yesterday as north/northeast winds will clear smoke from the area in the early morning. Afternoon winds will shift to west/southwest bringing heavy smoke back into the area. Fire behavior will be active as the smoke continues to clear. A warming, drying trend will occur Tuesday through Friday. Yesterday’s Activities: Crews continued structure protection in Briggs Valley north of the fire as well as continued to hold, secure and mop-up on the northern fire edge. Burnout operations continued on the east end of the fire. Engine crews patrolled Josephine County Oak Flat and continued to run pumps and sprinklers around structures. Firefighters continued assessments and preparation work on structures on the south side of the fire. Today’s Activities:...

A community meeting will be held at 6:00pm on August 5, 2018 at the Entiat Fire Station, District 8. The public is invited to meet the new fire team, receive updates, and ask questions of incident team fire personnel and local fire officials.The fire information phone number has been changed to

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 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 Hog Creek Ramp is open for take-out Galice Ramp is open for put-in BLM-administered lands and recreation sites from Hog Creek to Rainie Falls Trailhead (near...

Angel Springs Fire UPDATE August 4, 2018 9:00 PM Northeast Washington Interagency IMT Type 3, Team #1 Eddie Lewis Incident Commander For Immediate Release Davenport, WA – Day shift crews made excellent progress today. Utilizing additional firefighters and in close coordination with aircraft, crews slowed the spread of the fire. National Guard helicopters arrived on the incident today and were very effective with suppression efforts. Night shift crews will be out again to continue to build and reinforce containment lines. The fire started August 2nd, at 3:00pm and quickly spread. Firefighters from Lincoln County Fire Districts 4 and 5, Washington State Department of Natural Resources and numerous federal, state and local agencies assisted with fire suppression well into the evening. Citizen and firefighters safety is our number one priority. Citizens are asked to remain clear of the fire area. No donations are...

Eastern Area Type 2 IMT has assumed command of the Angel Springs Fire at 6:00 AM today. Northeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team would like to thank the community and firefighters for their support.

Contact: Christie Shaw, Oregon Department of Forestry 541-263-0661 Darcy Weseman, Umatilla National Forest 541-278-3722 [Morrow County, Ore.] Firefighters have completed mop up operations on the Wilson Prairie Fire located near the Morrow County Off Highway Vehicle Park in southern Morrow County. The fire was initially reported on July 23, 2018 and burned 405 acres. The fire is in patrol status as of Saturday, August 4, 2018. Firefighters will continue to monitor the fire during the heat of the day when any potential smoldering fire may become more active. There are unburned areas of fuel within the interior of the fire with smoldering and creeping fire. These areas are well interior of the fireline with minimal risk of the fire moving outside the lines. Some hose remains on the fireline to be used if fire or heat is discovered near the line. The Umatilla National Forest Area and Road Closure around the fire was rescinded as of Friday afternoon. Information for the fire is...

Dufur, OR – Fire activity was quieter today. Firefighters were afforded the opportunity to continue work on specific hot spots in the south east branch of the fire. Other crews set additional hose lays on the south east line increasing water availability along the fire perimeter. Crews continued mop-up activities working from the perimeter towards the interior up to 50 feet, creating a larger vegetation free zone. In the interior, smoldering, heavy timber remains a concern. Timber fallers will begin work tomorrow reducing snags, and removing hazard trees. Night operation objectives will be to enhance existing mop-up around residential homes and structures, while working fire perimeter patrols. Temperatures increased today but winds supported crew's efforts staying between 5-10 miles an hour out of the north. Relative Humidity will decrease tomorrow hovering between 20 -25% with temperatures increasing. A 6:00 p.m. community meeting was held this evening at the Christian Church in...

Crescent Mountain and Gilbert Fires Crescent Mountain and Gilbert Fires (August 4, 2018 7:00pm) ● Crescent Mountain Acres:7,000 ● Gilbert Acres: 38 ● Personnel: 180 ● Location: Approximately 16 miles west of the town of Twisp ● Start Date: July 28, 2018 ● Cause: Lightning Current Activity: There are some changes today on Inciweb and in this update. For clarification, there are two fires. The Gilbert Fire is the smaller fire (approximately 38 acres) to the north. The larger fire, which is currently quite active and growing, is the Crescent Mountain Fire. Firefighters on-scene have been managing both, but it was easier to use one name for sharing information. One update will continue for both fires. The Crescent Mountain Fire will continue to be updated daily in Inciweb, the Gilbert Fire will be updated depending on the fire’s activity. The fire had very little movement today. Smoke was heavy over the burn area, and there was some rain in the late...

Following the recommendations of fire officials on the Miles/Sugar Pine Fires, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office has added a new Level 2 "Be Set" evacuation zone to the south of the existing Level 3 "Go" zone on Elk Creek Road.Two addresses are included in the new zone. For further information, please see the Jackson County Sheriff's Office Press Release at: Sugar Pine/Miles Fire Evacuations Expanded