InciWeb Articles & Incidents for Washington and Oregon

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued an air quality advisory today for Jackson, Josephine and Klamath counties, which are being impacted by smoke from a number of wildfires.

Two public meetings are set for the local communities that are being most effected by the Garner Complex Fires. The first will be TONIGHT, Monday July 23, 2018 at 6:00 P.M. at the North Valley High School, 6741 Monument Drive,in Grant Pass, OR. Tomorrow's meeting is set for Wimer, Tuesday July 24, 2018 at 6:00 P.M. at Evans Valley Education and Community Center, 8205 East Evans

Prospect, Oregon – Good progress has been made to access, assess and safely engage all the known fires. There are nineteen fires on the High Cascades Ranger District west of Crater Lake National Park (CLNP) managed under the collective name Sugar Pine, which is also the name of one specific fire. Approximately 886 total acres have burned on all fires combined. Highway 62 and residences are not threatened. Yesterday, the Sugar Pine Fire saw increased activity and growth towards the south as a result of weather changes. Crews could not continue safe direct engagement and re-focused efforts on improving indirect containment lines. Burn-out operations are almost complete on the Round Top Fire. Mop-up and patrol continue on several fires that have been lined and in mop-up including the Union, Sunshine and Junction fires. Today’s priorities include engaging heavy equipment such as dozers and masticators on the Sugar Pine Fire to build out containment line along power lines south of...

Timber Crater 6 Fire Update July 23, 2018, 9:00 am NW Incident Management Team (IMT) 9, Brian Goff, Incident Commander Contact us at: TimberCrater6.2018@gmail.com - Fire Information: 541-238-2084 (GoogleVoice) or 541-291-4158 Crater Lake National Park, OR – Crews made good progress yesterday and achieved 5% containment. Since NW Incident Management Team 9 arrived on July 20, fire managers’ strategy and crews’ work have focused on stopping the fire progression, using a combination of burnout operations and, when safe, working at the fire’s edge. Yesterday, 522 personnel are working the fire, including 18 crews. An infrared flight mapped the fire at 2010 acres. Weather: Weather could be a concern today if thunderstorms materialize. Though there is only a 20% probability, outflow winds associated with thunderstorms can greatly change fire behavior and push the fire into the forest canopy. Today will again be hot and dry, and expected fire behavior includes short-range...

Public Meetings: Plans are set for two public meetings for the local communities that are being most effected by the Garner Complex fires. The first meeting will be TODAY, Monday July 23, 2018 at 6:00 P.M. at the North Valley High School, 6741 Monument Drive, Grant Pass, OR. Another meeting is set for Wimer on Tuesday July 24, 2018 at 6:00 P.M. at Evans Valley Education and Community Center, 8205 East Evans Creek. Fire crews from the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office (OSFM) continue to work in the area’s of the Grave and Taylor Fires. OSFM crews are assessing homes and other structures. This allows the crews to create a defensible space around each structure. Flagging left on the driveway quickly informs structural crews of the work needing to be completed. It does not indicate the level of protection fire crews will provide that structure. Please do not remove or move the flagging. This causes fire crews to duplicate their work. OSFM crews have been able to assess 245...

Public Meetings: Plans are set for two public meetings for the local communities that are being most effected by the Garner Complex fires. The first meeting will be, Monday July 23, 2018 at 6:00 P.M. at the North Valley High School, 6741 Monument Drive, Grant Pass, OR. Another meeting is set for Wimer on Tuesday July 24, 2018 at 6:00 P.M. at Evans Valley Education and Community Center, 8205 East Evans Creek. Today 50 Oregon National Guard personnel arrived to staff ten road blocks around the clock. Supporting traffic control check points help the public avoid entering active fire areas. Construction of direct and indirect control lines continues on the Graves fires. Much of the fire is holding within the lines on the north and west flanks, and hose lays are in place in these areas. Crews worked down each side of the fire tying in reopened roads, hand and dozer lines. Much of the focus on the Grave Fire was to create a fire line across the southern edge to tie in line between the...

7/23/18 Klondike and Natchez Fire InformationWeather & Fire Behavior: The hot and dry weather will continue, allowing for continued fire growth. Smoke present over the fire area in the morning is expected to clear by the afternoon. Yesterday’s Activities: Klondike Fire: Firefighters working throughout the day and evening continued structure protection activities in the Oak Flat area of Josephine County. Helicopters utilized strategic water drops to slow fire spread and hold the fire to the south and west of the Illinois River. Fallers continued to remove hazard trees from old roads and dozer lines, and dozers were used to remove vegetation, further reinforcing these control lines. Fire personnel also scouted areas along Forest Service Road 087 to Pearsoll Peak and along Roads 4103 and 4805 to assess opportunities for a control line. Natchez Fire: Firefighters working both day and night shifts continued to burnout fuels along control lines as conditions allowed. These...

A smoke outlook updated July 23 is now available at the link below.

Silver Falls State Park is open and all operations are normal during regular business hours. All trails are open except the Northern Section of Buck Mountain Loop (see Maps Section). The Howard Creek Horse Camp and the Howard Creek Day-use Area, and the Ranches have been reopened. The Youth Camp (Camp Silver Creek) will be back open and resume normal operations beginning July 29th.

The July 23 Hendrix Fire infrared map has been posted to inciweb. The infrared flight interpreter estimated the acreage at 1061. Please keep in mind that the acreages are an approximation and can vary based on how they are determined, and are updated at different times of the day.

A community meeting will be held at the Tiller Fire Department this evening at 6:30 PM. Fire officials will explain the fire situation and suppression effort and respond to questions. The northwest transport wind that had kept the South Umpqua valley clear despite all the fire activity during the past week shifted to the southwest on Sunday. The wind caused the valley to fill with smoke, and an inversion ensured that the smoke didn’t leave. The weather report calls for a change back to the northwest flow that should scour the smoke out of the valley later today. The same inversion that kept the smoke in the valley also affected fire behavior. “The inversion acts as a lid,” explains Fire Behavior Analyst Katie Hetts, “and the fire builds in intensity under the lid. Then, when the lid is removed, the fire “boils over”, so to speak, and firefighters often experience a sudden increase in fire behavior.” As the inversion lifted over the fires yesterday, the increased...

Update July 22 at 5:45 p.m.: Due to increased fire activity from the Grave #3 fire, the evacuation zone in the Pleasant Creek Road area has been expanded. Map section 15, previously at Level 2 (Be Set), is now Level 3 (Go). This includes addresses between 6392 and 7235 Pleasant Creek Road. Residents of that area can expect to receive Citizen Alert notifications shortly. A downloadable map attached to this release includes a general area map with current evacuation zones and map sections noted. As before, be aware that some addresses within the address range given may or may not be included in an evacuation zone. The zones are based on geographical areas, not specific address or block numbers. Please refer to the online interactive map to check a specific address: http://joco.maps. arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/ index.html?id= 37b8a655d90f4f82ba35ba107a8278 40. National Guard personnel will be assisting Jackson County Sheriff's Office deputies with road closures to help ensure...

A Joint Information Center has been opened through a partnership of federal, state, and county agencies. This update of Southwestern Oregon fires has been published today, July 22, 2018.

These evacuation notices are based on fire activity from the Taylor Creek and Klondike Fires in Josephine County.REPORTING DEPUTY: C. Krauss INCIDENT: Current Fire Evac Levels and Road Blocks in Josephine County INCIDENT DATE AND TIME: 7/22/18 @ 10:00 pmCurrent evacuation levels:Level 3 - West Pickett Creek RoadLevel 3 - Upper end of Shan Creek RoadLevel 3 - Upper end of Limpy creek RoadLevel 3 - Oak Flat community at the end of Illinois River RoadLevel 2 - Lower end of Shan Creek RoadLevel 2 - Lower end of Limpy Creek RoadLevel 2 - Pickett Creek Road, including secondary roadsLevel 2 - Dutcher Creek Road, including secondary roadsLevel 1 - Riverbanks Road between Limpy Creek Road and Pickett Creek Road including all secondary roads and streetsDue to the Taylor Creek wildfire, road blocks have been established to prevent non­-essential vehicle traffic from interfering withresidents attempting to evacuate and emergency services vehicles engaged in firefighting activities. Current road...

Timber Crater 6 Fire Update July 22, 2018, 9:00 am NW Incident Management Team (IMT) 9, Brian Goff, Incident Commander Contact us at: TimberCrater6.2018@gmail.com - Fire Information: 541-238-2084 (GoogleVoice) or 541-291-4158 Crater Lake National Park, OR: The Timber Crater 6 Fire is managed by Northwest Incident Management Team 9. At this morning’s operational briefing, Incident Commander Brian Goff emphasized that the objectives are to provide for public and firefighter safety, to protect high values at risk (life, property and critical infrastructure), and execute an aggressive, full–suppression strategy to control the Timber Crater 6 Fire as quickly and efficiently as possible. The Timber Crater 6 Fire now stands at 1190 acres and is zero percent contained. The incident is staffed with 340 firefighters and support personnel. Two helicopters are assigned to the fire. Yesterday, firefighters conducted low-intensity burn operations on US Forest Service land to the east of...

Per the Josephine County Sheriff, as of noon today, Sunday July 22:Due to the fast moving Talyor Creek Wildfire, all residents on Limpy Creek and Shan Creek Roads are being placed on a Level 3, "GO", Evacuation! Additionally, Dutcher Creek Road has been upgraded to Leval 2, "Be

Sunday, July 22. 2018 Natchez Fire UpdateCurrent Situation: On the Natchez Fire (15 miles SE of Cave Junction, OR), crews continue to make good progress establishing indirect lines on the fire using heavy equipment and hand crews. The terrain is rugged and crews continue to work on widening existing roads to use as containment lines. Aerial resources including large helicopters will be used to slow fire growth to as conditions permit. Aviation resources will continue to be used as long as weather conditions are favorable. Klondike and Granite Fires (9 miles NW of Selma, OR) have now grown together and will be referred to as the Klondike Fire going forward. This area is very rugged and has been unsafe to put fire crews into the fire area. To limit future growth of the Klondike Fire, fire crews and heavy equipment are being used to improve existing roads and old fire lines on the eastern and southern sides of the fire. A strategy is being developed to limit the growth of the fires...

More accurate mapping shows that the Substation Fire covered 79,121 acres. Containment reached 82% by Saturday evening. Fire behavior was minimal, with some smoldering in hotspots in Deschutes River corridor and Eight-Mile Canyon. The Oregon State Fire Marshall Red Team is demobilizing today. The Wasco County Sheriff’s Office and the Sherman County Sheriff's Office have reduced the evacuation levels for all areas to Level 1. More information about the Ready, Set, Go preparation program can be found at http://www.wildlandfirersg.org Crews will continue their work to reinforce and overhaul containment lines as they ensure areas are cool to the touch for a distance of 150 feet from the fire edge or any structures. Within the perimeter of the fire, and especially in the burned area in the Deschutes River Canyon, smoke in the interior of the burn may be present and visible for multiple days. Access to the Deschutes River is open. However, boaters should use caution and may have...

Prospect, Oregon – Good progress has been made to access, assess and safely engage all the known fires on the High Cascades Ranger District west of Crater Lake National Park (CLNP). Nineteen fires east and west of Highway 62 are being managed under the collective name Sugar Pine, which is also the name of one specific fire. Approximately 645 total acres have burned on all fires combined. Highway 62 is not threatened.Yesterday, aircraft applied water to the Sugar Pine and Union fires to prevent spread. Some burn-out operations were conducted on the Round Top Fire. Mop-up and patrol continue on several of the smaller fires that have been lined or contained. A new heat source was identified by an infrared overflight last night. It will be investigated today. Today’s priorities include improving containment lines and mopping up on the Union, Junction and Sunshine fires, assessing direct and indirect options for containing the Sugar Pine and Goodview fires to keep them as small as...

A new vicinity map of the Hendrix Fire has been posted to inciweb. Some new insets have been added which we hope will be responsive to feedback we have received.