Tuesday, September 18, 2018

9/18/2018 Miles Fire Update

Tom Merritt, the incoming IC (Incident Commander) took over command of the Miles Fire at 0600 today (09/17/18). He thanks the outgoing Gila/Las Cruces Type 3 IMT, Ricky Cox IC, for all the good work that they did, and expects the transition to be seamless.
Firefighters will continue to patrol and secure the fire’s perimeter as well as repair lines to a more natural condition. Crews are being reallocated to other areas of the fire as work is completed. Personnel are identifying equipment no longer in use for suppression or repair work and will release it to other incidents if needed.

Appropriate hazard reduction for employees, contractors, and the public may be needed. This work includes the identification and mitigation of danger trees next to roads, trails, and firelines which pose a significant threat to firefighters and the public when the area is reopened.

Weather is expected to be drier Monday through Thursday, with a cold front coming on-shore Friday. This cold front will increase the potential for showers and higher relative humidity (RH) in the Fire area. RH over the Fire area will drop into the low 30s-hi 20s during the week. Typical early morning downslope winds of 1-3 mph will occur, and afternoon transport winds from the west-northwest will predominate.

The Umpqua National Forest entered into Industrial Fire Precaution Level (IFPL) II on September 14 which prohibits blasting, welding, cable yarding, or the use of power saws except at loading sites, from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. The restrictions apply to all contractors and permit holders working on the forest including those with permits to cut personal-use firewood. For more information call 541-957-3200 or visit www.fs.usda.gov/umpqua.

There are still public use fire, road, and area restrictions. Please check www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/umpqua/alerts-notices (Umpqua National Forest) and www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/rogue-siskiyou/alerts-notices (Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest) for current information.

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