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The Malheur National Forest has opened the 13 and 16 Roads to woodcutting on the perimeter of the 204 Cow Fire. Woodcutting is limited to the felled and stacked woodpiles on the roadsides. Felling trees is not permitted. Permits are required and may be purchased at any Malheur National Forest Ranger District offices. While woodcutting is normally not permitted on Forest roads with two-digit identifiers, the Forest Service has temporarily waived this restriction on the 13 and 16 Roads. Material cleared along these roads to stop the fire has been piled next to the roads to facilitate public woodcutting. There is still firefighting traffic in the area so the public is reminded to drive slowly and carefully. On Wednesday, crews will continue with fireline cleanup and rehabilitation. This team will repair firelines to prevent erosion by building water bars to divert runoff away from the firelines. All chipping and log hauling operations have been completed. Cool wet weather continued...

Malheur National ForestForest Order #2019-0604-MAL-03E

On Monday, crews completed removing pumps, hoses and other firefighting equipment. Chipping cleared roadside vegetation is completed. Cool wet weather continues over the fire area today, making fire spread very unlikely in the near future. Rainfall and high humidity continue to aid suppression efforts. Isolated concentrations of heavy fuels will continue to smolder and produce smoke. At 6 a.m. today September 10, command of the fire transitioned to a local Type 3 incident team. This team will complete the repair of firelines to prevent erosion by building water bars to divert runoff from the firelines. The Road Closure Order has been lifted in vicinity of the 204 Cow Fire and surrounding roads. Road barriers and closure points are being removed today. The Area Closure will remain in place for an extended period. It is not safe to travel off-road in recently burned areas. Trees killed or weakened by the fire will continue to fall for months, even during calm weather Additional...

Firefighters Continue to Focus on Improving Containment Lines PROSPECT, OR, September 10, 2019 – The Gopher Fire is located in the Sky Lakes Wilderness, approximately 11 miles east of Prospect. The fire is currently 340 acres and is the result of 5 small fires that burned together after the lightning storm that moved through the area September 5th. The fire is burning within the perimeter of the 2008 Middle Fork Fire. Firefighters continue to focus on improving containment lines on the west and southwest flanks. The damp weather over the last several days may have opened an opportunity for firefighters to build fire line directly against or near the fire's perimeter on the south flank. Four additional sets of tree fallers have been ordered to help reduce the risk of injury from falling snags and fire-weakened trees. This remains a full suppression fire, with the objective of stopping the fire where the risk to firefighters is minimized and the probability of success is...

Gopher Fire Road and Trail Closure (Forest Order No. 06-10-24-19-11) closes specific roads and trails for the health and safety of the public and firefighters during active suppression of the Gopher Fire. This order is effective September 9, 2019 until November 30, 2019, unless sooner terminated. https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd661870.pdf

PENDLETON, Ore. – Proactive hazardous fuel treatments on the Heppner Ranger District of the Umatilla National Forest were instrumental in changing fire behavior and slowing the advance of the HK Complex, which burned approximately 2,700 acres. These treated acres were critical in keeping the wildfire shorter in duration, less costly, safer for firefighters, and reducing the severity of the burn. The thinning treatments happened over the course of a decade through a project called the Wildcat Fuels Reduction and Vegetation Management Project (Wildcat). This 10,280-acre project, located approximately 15 miles south of Heppner, Oregon, was implemented in order to reduce fuels and the risks of stand replacing wildfire to the area through a variety of treatments including 4,020 acres of timber harvest activities and mechanical fuels treatments, followed by 2,760 acres of non-commercial thinning and (yet to be completed) 10,280 acres of prescribed under burning. Prior to treatment, the...

SW Oregon – Damp and Cool Weather Conditions Moderate Fire Behavior on the Gopher Fire The Gopher Fire is located in the Sky Lakes Wilderness, approximately 11 miles east of Prospect. The fire is currently 340 acres and is the result of 5 small fires that burned together after the lightning storm that moved through the area September 5th. The fire is burning within the perimeter of the 2008 Middle Fork Fire. Aaron Schuh, Incident Commander, at the morning briefing said, "These cool and moist conditions are giving the us the time we need to prepare our fire lines and when the warmer and dryer weather returns in the coming weeks." Firefighters continue to improve access to the fire by opening old roads outside of the wilderness. Hazard trees, primarily snags, are being felled where needed. Operations staff are scouting for an optimum containment strategy on the south end of the fire in the steep Middle Fork drainage. Snags from previous fires continue to be the main hazard for...

On Sunday, crews completed removing pumps, hoses and other firefighting equipment. Chipping cleared roadside vegetation is nearly complete. Firefighters assisted in the initial attack of a new fire in the Prairie Hill area east of the 204 Cow Fire. Cool wet weather continues over the fire area today, making fire spread very unlikely in the near future. Rainfall and high humidity are increasingly penetrating deeply into burnable material. Isolated concentrations of heavy fuels will continue to smolder and produce smoke. At 6 a.m. Tuesday September 10, command of the fire will transition to a local Type 3 incident management team. This team will complete the repair of firelines to prepare the ground for wet weather and prevent erosion by building water bars to divert runoff from the firelines. A Closure Order is in effect for the vicinity of the 204 Cow Fire and surrounding roads. Road barriers and closure points are being removed today. The Area Closure will remain in place for an...

More rain and temperatures in the 30s held the Granite Gulch Fire at a virtual standstill Sunday. A total of 0.19" of precipitation fell at Mule Creek Lookout over the past 24 hours. Low-hanging cloud cover Sunday blocked a line of sight view of the burn area until late afternoon, at which time minimal smoke could be seen. Continued cool temperatures and high humidity, scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms are predicted for today and Tuesday. A brief warming and drying period is expected Wednesday and Thursday, followed by more rain and wet weather this weekend. A wildfire struggles to generate enough heat to dry out and burn the fuels around it in the same way a campfire does, resulting in very low fire activity. If it is too cold and wet, it eventually goes out. To move, rather than spread from its center; a wildfire heats and ignites the fuels above it on a slope; or because the wind is pushing it into new fuels and adding oxygen that...

To provide for public and firefighter safety, roads leading to the fire area have been closed pending an official closure order. As hunting season continues this fall, the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest is asking people to be aware: Know Before You Go.

There will be a public meeting about the Gopher Fire at the Prospect Community Hall at 305 Red Blanket Road, Prospect, Oregon on Sunday Sept. 8, 2019 at 7 PM.

SW Oregon – There will be a Community Meeting tonight September 8, at the Prospect Community Hall at 7:00 P.M. The Gopher Fire is burning within the Sky Lakes Wilderness, approximately 11 miles east of Prospect. The fire is estimated at 300 acres and is the result of 5 small fires that burned together after the lightning storm that moved through the area September 5th. The additional 70 acres since yesterday is largely due to consumption of snags and woody materials from the 2008 Middle Fork Fire. Yesterday, heavy helicopters were utilized to check the fire’s spread on the east flank, keeping the fire from spreading further up the Middle Fork drainage. Crews made great progress on the west side of the fire and that containment line should be completed by the end of shift today. Crews are constructing a handline on the south flank of the fire on Gopher Ridge and plan to utilize the Middle Fork of the Rogue River to contain the fire on the north and northeast portion. Direct...

Saturday, firefighters used helicopter bucket drops to knock down some hot spots on the north flank in the Swamp Creek and Glacier Peak area. Cool wet weather continues over the fire area today, making continued fire spread very unlikely in the near future. Rainfall and high humidity are penetrating more deeply into burnable material. This progressive wetting of forest fuels allows a reduction in firefighting crews and equipment as containment objectives are reached. Crews are working to complete chipping the cleared vegetation along the 16 Road. Firefighters are repairing firelines and placing water bars to divert runoff to prevent erosion. The fire is now 72% contained. Because there are still helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft in use, a temporary flight restriction (TFR) remains in place. The NOTAM is 9/9780. Please remember, the use of an unmanned aerial system (UAS, or “drone”) within the TFR is prohibited. Any drone incursion will force the grounding of all firefighting...

Fire activity was minimal Saturday on the Granite Gulch Fire, with no visible smoke outside the drainages of the Eagle Cap Wilderness. Although Saturday was sunny and warm, higher humidity prevented the fire from generating enough heat to spread beyond the existing perimeter, Incident Commander Andrea Holmquist said. Since Aug. 28, the fire has spread about 353 acres, just over half a percent of the total fire footprint. "Much cooler and showery weather should bring wetting rains Sunday through Tuesday, so we expect more of the same fire behavior," she said. For northeast Oregon, a wetting rain is defined as one-tenth of an inch of precipitation. At 6:30 a.m. there was an 80 percent chance of rain today. At 5,555 acres, the Granite Gulch Fire encompasses less than 1 percent of the total Eagle Cap Wilderness, yet it is the largest wildfire the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest has chosen to actively manage rather than immediately suppress. A slow fire...

SW Oregon, September 7, 2019 – On September fifth a lightning storm went through the area, causing 18 starts on the Rogue River Siskiyou National Forest. The Gopher Fire is the result of five small fires burning together. It is located in the 2008 Middle Fork Fire scar within the Sky Lakes Wilderness. Current size of the fire is estimated to be 230 acres. Firefighters are working to keep the fire south of the Rogue River, east of the Middle Fork Fire, north of Gopher Ridge, and west of Bear Face Butte and Seven Lakes Basin. They will reopen old fire lines from the 2008 Middle Fork Fire as part of their suppression efforts. Fire personnel assigned to the Gopher Fire total 177. There are seven 20 person hand crews, 3 faller modules, and 1 Dozer (this will not be used Inside of designated Wilderness). Air support assigned to the fire includes 3 Type 1 helicopters, 1 Type 2 helicopter, and 2 type 3 helicopters. At this time, the fire is burning in terrain very steep terrain 30-45%...

Friday, intermittent thunderstorms produced rainfall amounts over the fire ranging from .15 to .30 inches. While this rain moderates the rate of spread and the likelihood of spotting, it is not enough rain to extinguish the fire. Rain has not yet penetrated the deep, thick duff layer and heavy concentrations of fuel, which can harbor heat and the possibility of fire spread later in the Fall. The northwest portion of the fire between Glacier Mountain and Lookout Mountain remains an area of concern. There is still a potential for fire spread in the upper Swamp Creek drainage. Firefighters will keep a close eye on these areas and can use helicopter water drops to suppress active burning if necessary to keep the fire within the primary containment lines. Crews continued chipping along the 16 Road, and removing pumps and hoses from the southern line. The fire is now 72% contained. Today will be clear and sunny, but tomorrow brings a return of cooler temperatures and significant rainfall....

Storms over the Granite Gulch Fire area generated lightning, hail and rain for a short time Friday. Today's forecast is calling for mostly sunny conditions, although temperatures will be cooler and humidity levels will remain higher. "It's possible we'll see an increase in fire behavior, but nothing like Thursday," which was the most active burn day this week, Incident Commander Andrea Holmquist said. "[Relative humidity] are going to stay in the 20s and 30s, and fire activity has been peaking in the teens." Statistically, the fire interval for any given area in the Eagle Cap Wilderness Is 10 to 25 years, but there are no records of fire in the Granite Gulch area for much longer than that. "We don't see anything from the Last Chance Fire across the Minam east until now," said Bret Ruby a fire behavior analyst. "It was time." The normal winnowing out of smaller trees and shrubs hasn't happened, allowing some species to populate more heavily than they...

COW FIRE AREA CLOSURE ORDER MALHEUR NATIONAL FOREST Pursuant to 36 CFR, Sec. 261.50 (a) and (b), the following acts are prohibited in the area described in this order and depicted on the attached map within the Malheur National Forest, County of Grant and Baker, State of Oregon. This order is in effect from September 6th, 2019, until December 31st, 2019 unless rescinded earlier. PROHIBITION: 1. Entering or being in the Cow Fire Closure Area. 36 CFR § 261.53(e) 2. Being on National Forest System Roads. 36 CFR § 261.54(e) 3. Being on any National Forest System trail within the Cow Fire Closure Area. 36 CFR § 261.55(a) ROAD AND TRAIL CLOSURES: ROAD NUMBER APPROXIMATE LOCATION SPECIFIC CLOS!,!RE LOCATJON FS Road 13 T15S R33.5 SECTION 15 In between the junction with FSR I6 and junction of the FSRI 3-600 FS Road 16 Tl 5S R35 SECTION 9 ...

John Day, Prairie City and Hines, Ore. - Malheur National Forest fire officials are monitoring conditions on the Forest and preparing to implement the fall prescribed fire program. Prescribed fires, also known as controlled burns, refer to the planned and controlled use of fire by a team of highly skilled fire managers under specific conditions. During the late summer and early fall months, the Forest has a number of planning units, ranging in size from 150 acres up to 4000 acres, scheduled for prescribed fire operations. Prescribed fires are conducted within specific parameters including temperature, relative humidity, fuel moisture, and wind speed. Implementation is dependent upon these and other necessary conditions. Should conditions allow, crews may start operations on some smaller units as early as, Friday, September 13, 2019. Fall burning will build upon efforts in the spring when the Forest safely and successfully accomplished prescribed fire operations on approximately...

John Day, Prairie City and Hines, Ore. - Malheur National Forest fire officials are monitoring conditions on the Forest and preparing to implement the fall prescribed fire program. Prescribed fires, also known as controlled burns, refer to the planned and controlled use of fire by a team of highly skilled fire managers under specific conditions. During the late summer and early fall months, the Forest has a number of planning units, ranging in size from 150 acres up to 4000 acres, scheduled for prescribed fire operations. Prescribed fires are conducted within specific parameters including temperature, relative humidity, fuel moisture, and wind speed. Implementation is dependent upon these and other necessary conditions. Should conditions allow, crews may start operations on some smaller units as early as, Friday, September 13, 2019. Fall burning will build upon efforts in the spring when the Forest safely and successfully accomplished prescribed fire operations on approximately...