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Fire managers have now reopened to public travel the segments of Forest Service Road 22 and Forest Service Road 2610 that passed in or near the Canyon 66 prescribed burn unit on the Lookout Mountain Ranger District of Ochoco National Forest.Workers completed all ignitions on the 5,072-acre prescribed burn late Wednesday night, and spent Thursday mopping up around the edges, putting out hot spots, and mitigating hazards along the roadways. Motorists are advised to continue driving with caution in the area of the burn as firefighters with heavy equipment continue working along the perimeter.The unit received substantial precipitation last night, but pockets of heat and burning fuels remain, and will continue to produce smoke over the next one to two weeks as the unit dries out

SW Oregon, September 6, 2019 – Air recon was completed this morning, giving the RRSNF a better picture of this fire burning in the 2008 Middle Fork Fire scar in the Sky Lakes Wilderness. Current size is estimated to be 200 acres, as it is 5 smaller lightning-sparked fires that have combined. The Gopher Fire is now being managed by a local Type 3 organization. A Type 1 helicopter and 2 air tankers are working it heavily, with the aim of slowing fire progression. Two crews are also working it, with more resources on order. Crewsare working to open old fire lines on the landscape that were used to contain the 2008 Middle Fork Fire. At this time, the fire is burning in terrain very steep terrain 30-45% and the fuels are comprised entirely of large dead snags, grass and brush. Fire managers are optimistic that cooler weather with higher relative humidities will provide for an opportunity to make good progress on containment efforts. There are currently no closures in place, although...

Thursday afternoon the fire area received light rainfall, ranging from a trace to as much as several hundredths of an inch. This moisture did not penetrate the forest canopy enough to significantly wet fuels on the ground. Unburned areas within the containment lines will remain susceptible to the fire. Yesterday the fire moved primarily in the upper Swamp Creek drainage and on the unlined western flank, spreading farther west toward and into areas burned by previous wildfires. Sparse fuels limited the fire’s spread on this flank. On the northern, eastern and southern flanks, the fire has reached the lines identified, built, and reinforced over The fire is now 65% contained.This morning brings a chance of showers or thunderstorms, with clearing and a return to lower humidity in the afternoon. Firefighters will check the fire spread and intensity on the uncontained western flank and in upper Swamp Creek as necessary to protect the ridgetop barrier forming the containment line. Crews...

SW Oregon, September 6, 2019 – Reports of a new fire in the Sky Lakes Wilderness came through the Rogue Valley Interagency Dispatch Center Thursday evening, and staff are developing strategies and ordering air and ground resources this morning. Initial reports have the Gopher Fire located in the scar of the 2008 Middle Fork Fire (Township 33S Range 5E Section 8). A visible column of smoke could be seen from some parts of the Rogue Valley this morning. Air reconnaissance has begun, which will provide a clearer picture of the size of the fire, and will facilitate development of further strategies for full suppression tactics, including access points and future resource needs. The RRSNF will update as more information is collected.

Thursday, the Granite Gulch Fire spread into the Cheval Lake area as the northwest flank began moving more eastward. "The bulk of the smoke [Thursday] was from there," Incident Commander Andrea Holmquist said. "The fuels along the ridge west of the lake are sparse, but burning was active in dead and down we saw some group torching of subalpine fir." One objective of the fire's management plan is to remove overly dense subalpine fir clumps to increase habitat for whitebark pine, which needs exposed open spaces to germinate. Removing heavier ground cover and opening spaces in the forest canopy to allow more sunlight to reach the ground also encourages the growth of new forage for wildlife. Firefighters in the air and on the ground have seen elk and other game moving normally in and around the fire's footprint since its inception. A spot fire on a north-facing slope in the riparian area south of the Minam River showed active ground fire with open flames,...

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Ignition of the 5,072 acre Canyon 66 prescribed burn was completed yesterday around 11 pm, approximately 30 miles east of Prineville on the Ochoco National Forest. Firefighters are now securing the burn perimeter and taking care of hazards to public and firefighter safety. Smoke from the unit will be visible in coming days as fire continues to burn in the interior. Forest visitors are encouraged to use Forest Service Road 4210 again today (east of Round Mountain) to access the Walton Lake area. Firefighters are currently addressing hazards along Forest Road 22 between the junctions with Forest Roads 42 and 2210. They hope to have the route clear for safe travel by the end of today. Forest Roads 2610 and 300 remain temporarily closed within the prescribed fire operational area. Smoke has impacted surrounding communities at different times over the last 48 hours. Prevailing winds help to disperse smoke during the daylight hours while smoke tends to settle at lower points overnight....

On Wednesday, lower humidity, brisk afternoon winds and a more unstable atmosphere allowed remaining unburned areas within containment lines to burn actively. The fire expanded primarily on the unlined western flank, spreading farther west into areas burned by previous wildfires. Sparse fuels limited the fire’s spread on this flank. On the northern, eastern and southern flanks, the fire has reached the lines identified, built, and reinforced over the past several weeks. The fire is now 65% contained. Crews worked to find and extinguish spots outside the containment line and continued mopping up areas immediately inside firelines, to create a wide, black, cold barrier to check and stop the fire’s spread.There is a Red Flag Warning today for thunderstorms with abundant lightning and strong gusty winds from variable direction. This brings increased risk for firefighters and the chance of new ignitions. Rainfall may vary from just a few hundredths of an inch to more than one-quarter...

Wednesday growth on the Granite Gulch Fire was limited to the Last Chance drainage, the southern perimeter and a spot fire near the Minam River. "The bottom is still slowly moving through the riparian area towards the Minam River cleaning up the heavy dead and down," Incident Commander Adam Wing said. "The fire up Last Chance continued to back down into the basin and has evened up into a nice line and the spot fire south of the Minam River doubled in size to about 4 acres." Most of the smoke generated Wednesday came from an unburned pocket near Granite Gulch proper left behind when the fire first moved through about two weeks ago. For the most part, smoke from the fire has stayed fairly low to the ground, moving through the canyon In anticipation of the coming storm and associated lightning, all firefighters stationed on the ground around the perimeter of the fire were brought out Wednesday afternoon. Heavy rain can cause erosion of ash and freshly exposed soil, but the rains...

Fire management officials on the Heppner Ranger District are implementing a prescribed natural fuel burn today, which is one of two units planned this week. The Sun Bacon prescribed burn activities are anticipated to take 2-5 days per unit to complete and include 425 acres of grass, brush, and timber located approximately 20 miles south of Heppner and seven miles east of the Morrow County OHV park. The objective of the burns are to improve foraging habitat for big game, reduce long-term wildfire risk through reductions in existing fuel loading, and to restore the ecological functions of a fire adapted ecosystem to the area. Additional information about this prescribed burn is available by visiting the Umatilla National Forest’s prescribed fire interactive map. This map displays burning activities and is available at https://tinyurl.com/y8b433th. The interactive map allows the user to zoom in on certain areas and click on a burn unit for more information (such as acreage,...

Firefighters accomplished ignition of approximately 2,800 acres of the 5,072 acre Canyon 66 prescribed burn unit yesterday, about 30 miles east of Prineville on the Ochoco National Forest. With positive results of a test fire at 11 am this morning, firefighters are moving ahead with ignitions today. Temporary road closures are in effect today for public and firefighter safety. Forest Service Road 22, between the junctions with Forest Roads 42 and 2210, will be closed until ignitions are completed and safe travel can be ensured. Forest Roads 2610 and 300 are also closed within the operational area. An alternative route for access to Walton Lake is Forest Road 4210, east of Round Mountain. Road guards are stationed to assist forest visitors with travel and safety information. Smoke settled into low areas early this morning and began to clear as the inversion lifted around 1030 am. A spot weather forecast for the burn area indicates good lift and light northerly winds will help disperse...

Tuesday, crews worked to find and extinguish spots outside the containment lines and continued mopping up areas immediately inside firelines, to create a wide, black, cold barrier to the fire’s spread. Crews raked smoldering surface fuels away from the stems of living large pines near the 13 road to increase their long-term survival. In the evening and late into the night crews completed the last piece of strategic firing to remove surface fuels along the north containment line near Swamp Creek, and will begin mopping up this area today. The fire has reached the lines identified, built and reinforced over the past several weeks, completing the containment objectives originally set for the fire. The fire is now 55% contained.Lower humidity, brisk afternoon winds and a more unstable atmosphere today will allow remaining unburned areas within containment lines to burn actively. Five heavy helicopters capable of dropping water and retardant and two fixed-wing air attack supervision...

An incoming storm system followed by a wet weekend should significantly reduce burning on the Granite Gulch Fire. "The next few days will be telling as we keep a close eye on the fire south of the river during a time of high fire activity," Incident Commander Adam Wing said. “The incoming storms will certainly slow things down for a while after a peak in activity Wednesday and Thursday.” Based on the forecast, fire managers reviewed the fire management implementation plan Tuesday and decided to allow the spot fires upstream from the Elk Creek confluence to continue to burn. "This spot is one we have been previously keeping in check with heavy helicopters," Wing said. "It was decided that now is an appropriate time to allow it to grow." Incoming rain combined with up-canyon winds are expected to grow the fire on the north side of the Minam River canyon. A second spot fire is confined to a marshy area with almost no potential for spreading. ...

Prescribed burning operations on the Canyon 66 unit, east of Prineville, Ore. on Ochoco National Forest, successfully accomplished 2,800 acres on Tuesday, more than half the total 5,072 acres planned.Light winds out of the northwest dispersed smoke to the east and northeast of the unit today, but smoke is expected to settle in and around the unit Tuesday night, affecting residents in the area and closer to Prineville, Ore.The burning operations have achieved desired results to date, with fire burning the understory at low to moderate intensity in a mosaic pattern with unburned patches. Individual trees have occasionally torched in pockets of heavy fuel loading. Containment lines around the unit have been constructed and blacklining operations completed this afternoon. Fire managers plan to continue the prescribed burn tomorrow pending favorable conditions. The National Weather Service has announced a fire weather watch beginning Thursday for Central and Eastern Oregon, calling for...

Prineville, ORE. — Following successful completion of a 5-acre test burn within the unit this morning, firefighters are moving forward with aerial ignitions for the 5,072-acre Canyon 66 prescribed burn. Ignitions on Tuesday will begin along the northwest border of the unit, and slowly work toward the interior of the unit. Pending successful completion of burning operations today, fire managers plan to continue burning the interior of the unit tomorrow and work southeast toward Forest Service Road 22. Multiple firefighters are stationed along the containment lines for the burn to ensure fire stays within the unit’s perimeter. Road guards are posted along roads surrounding the unit to assist visitors and prevent people from entering the area during active ignitions. Light winds out of the northwest are expected to push smoke to the southeast of the burn unit today, but smoke is expected to settle at low points overnight. Smoke will be visible in the immediate area today and from...

On Monday, crews completed bringing the fire out to the primary containment lines, with the exception of a short piece of the northwest line near Swamp Creek. It is expected that firefighters will complete this final section tonight when wind speed and direction are favorable. Crews actively searched for and extinguished spot fires outside the line on the eastern and southern flanks. No spot fires were located after 2 p.m. yesterday. The fire is now 30% contained.With the completion of strategic burning operations on most of the fire, crews will concentrate on mopping up areas immediately inside firelines, to create a wide, black, cold barrier to the fire’s spread. Unburned islands within the fire may continue to burn and put up a smoke column. Six heavy helicopters capable of dropping water and retardant and two fixed-wing air attack supervision airplanes are assigned to today’s operation. They will watch for and help suppress spot fires resulting from embers that could carry...

Activity on the Granite Gulch Fire was minimal Monday, but is expected to pick up and spread to the east and west as has been the pattern lately. "The forecast is still calling for a warm, unstable period, followed by rain and storms on Thursday," Incident Commander Adam Wing said. "This should allow the subalpine fir in Last Chance to actively burn some more." Smoke is more visible during active burn cycles, but doesn't always correlate to the size of the fire. "Even moderate fire growth can put out a lot of smoke," said Bret Ruby, a fire behavior analyst assigned to the fire. "These more active burn days allow us to encourage the fire to move in the direction we want." For the past several weeks, fire managers have been gradually steering the fire into a patchwork of past burned areas, using a lighter version of traditional suppression techniques. These burned areas create a natural buffer zone that will contain the Granite Gulch Fire, and fire...

UPDATE: September 2, 2019 Due to the precipitation that's predicted on Thursday, and cooling temperatures predicted to start next week, the Lookout Mountain Ranger District has decided to take advantage of current warm weather to start the Canyon 66 prescribed burn tomorrow, rather than Wednesday. Pending favorable weather conditions, and appropriate fuel consumption measured by a test burn tomorrow morning, firefighters plan to begin ignitions within the Canyon 66 unit around 1030 am tomorrow and continue until around 5 pm. Firefighters will be stationed in and around the burn unit to assist visitors and prevent people from entering the operational area. Forest Service Road 22 will remain open, but other roads within the unit will be temporarily closed to entry during active ignitions. Smoke will be present and visible in the immediate area during ignitions and is expected to settle at lower elevations at night. Residents in the immediate area, and as far west as Ochoco Reservoir,...

Fire Size: 7,866 acres Containment: 10%Location: 15 miles southeast of Prairie City, Oregon Start date: August 9 Cause: Lightning Total Personnel: 622 Management: Northwest Interagency Incident Management Team 9 Sunday’s weather was favorable for intentional burning to remove surface fuels along the primary containment lines to reduce the potential for high intensity burning and the opportunity for airborne embers to ignite fuels across the containment lines. Fire was brought to the containment lines along much of the eastern line, comprised of the 13 and 16 Roads, and along the northern and southern flanks. With light evening winds from the north, crews worked late into the night to take advantage of favorable conditions, accomplishing additional burning from the Swamp Creek drainage south. Today crews will continue work to strengthen control lines by carefully burning unburned areas near containment lines. Six heavy helicopters capable of dropping water and retardant are...

After several very quiet days, activity on the Granite Gulch Fire picked up Sunday, although the most active burning was in interior pockets that hadn't burned yet. Breezier conditions and lower humidity today are expected to renew fire movement on the east and west flanks, which have driven the fire's spread for the past several weeks. "The west wind should help the fire continue to spread deeper in to the Last Chance basin where it can continue to ease around," Incident Commander Adam Wing said. "I expect the east flank to continue to burn along the slope, with the wind causing short runs up the hill in front of itself." A Type 1 helicopter made several water drops to slow the progression of an existing spot fire in the riparian area on the south bank of the Minam River which grew to about 2 acres and moved up to the edge of an avalanche chute. A new spot fire six-tenths of mile downstream from Elk Creek also received water. "I expect very little...