Saturday, September 30, 2017

9/30/2017 High Cascades Complex - West Zone Update

High Cascades Complex - West Zone Update
Northwest Interagency Incident Management Team 8, Incident Commander: Tim Keith
September 30, 2017

Special Announcements: The Lost Creek Marina and Store located in the Joseph Stewart State Park Day Use Area on the Lost Creek Lake remains open for your enjoyment. Please check their website for hours of operation.  Hunters please be aware of heavier than normal fire traffic on Forest Roads and watch for fire personnel.
Fire Information Center: (541) 316-8352 Available 8:00 am to 9:00 pm.

Incident Management Team: Northwest Interagency Incident Management Team 8, Incident Com mander, Tim Keith, is managing the High Cascades Complex - West Zone.  The incident command post (ICP) is located at the Joseph Stewart State Park near Lost Creek Reservoir southwest of Prospect, Oregon. A spike camp is located at Milo Academy near Milo, Oregon.

Current Fire Information: Interior smokes will visible on both fires until a season ending event which could take the form of rain or snow.   

Pup – 8,279 acres, 42% contained.  Located northwest and southeast of Hershberger Lookout partially in the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness.  The north indirect containment line along Forest Road (FR) 2840 has been cleaned up and equipment is repairing road damage.  Merchantable logs are being hauled and decked for future use. Repair on secondary dozer and hand lines on the east side is 60% completed.  Along FR 6520, vegetation and slash generated from indirect fire line construction is being hauled by 10 dump trucks to a near-by rock pit for storage and later processing into chips for transport to a co-generation plant in White City. This work is 40% competed.

Broken Lookout  19,181 acres, 27% contained. Located directly west of Union Creek on the southern end of the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness where it is burning on both sides of the Wilderness. Firefighters are repairing secondary dozer containment lines along the south and firefighter parking areas (drop points) along the southwest side of the fire. Along FR 700, chipping of vegetative debris generated from indirect fire line construction continues.  Work is also progressing on repairing dozer line around the contained Cougar Fire.

Resources:  Total personnel assigned to the Complex (both Zones) – 462:  2-type 2 IA crews, 6-type 2 crews, 6-camp crews, 8-engines, 4-masticators, 2-medium helicopters, 2- light helicopters, 1-dozer, 2-water tenders, and 189 overhead.

Air Operations:  A temporary flight restriction (TFR) is in place over the fire area restricting aerial public access.  Please check the NOTAMs prior to flying. The public is reminded all air operations are grounded any time a drone is sighted within the TFR, delaying fire suppression efforts. Flying within the TFR is prohibited and against the law. The helibase is located at the Prospect Airport and is closed to public use. The airport is planned to reopen on October 15th.

Air Quality:  Forecasted air quality for surrounding communities and the Pacific Northwest is normal, no anticipated smoke or other pollutants.  For the most up to date air quality reported for your area see Air Now http://www.airnow.gov/ or the Oregon Smoke Blog http://oregonsmoke.blogspot.com

Weather: A cold front moved into the area yesterday bringing very scattered showers, cooler temperatures, and higher relative humidity. Rainfall was minimal with only a trace recorded over the fire area. Today anticipate partly cloudy skies, cool temperatures 58 - 62 degrees, relative humidity 45 - 65% with light rain showers in the afternoon. Ridgetop winds will be northwest and increasing to 7 - 11 mph.  Sunday night and Monday will be the coolest part of the week with snow levels falling to 5,500 ft. and no accumulation expected.

Behavior:  The fire perimeters have little potential for movement.  Expect cooler conditions to re-establish over the fire area limiting fire spread potential. Creeping and smoldering in heavy surface fuels will continue.

Closures:  The Rogue River Siskiyou National Forest has reduced the closure area east of Highway 62. Multiple area, trail, and Forest road closures still exist over both Forests.  “Know before you go” by visiting https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5503 or your local Forest office. Know: the forecasted weather; road, trail and area closure information; and be aware of firefighters working in the vicinity of your recreational activities.

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High Cascades Complex Fire Information
541-316-8352 
BlanketCreekFireInfo@gmail.com

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