07/14/2014 9:00 AM White River Fire Update

July 14, 2014       9:00 a.m.

NEWS RELEASE
WHITE RIVER FIRE
OREGON DEPT OF FORESTRY
INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM 1

Contact: Brian Ballou, public information officer, (541) 621-4156

CREWS REPORT GOOD PROGRESS OVERNIGHT ON WHITE RIVER FIRE

Firefighters working night shift on the 570-acre White River Fire, which started Saturday afternoon in the White River Wild & Scenic Area 12 miles west of Tygh Valley, extinguished remaining hot spots inside of the fire's perimeter. Most of the night shift's work was on the fire's south end and the north end above the canyon.

Crews today continue to improve fire lines, tightening the protective barrier around the blaze, and stringing hoses deeper into the burned area. Teams of fallers are working with firefighters on felling hazardous trees where crews are working.

Hazards are numerous in the White River Canyon – it's very steep and footing is poor, burned trees fall with little warning, and rattlesnakes must always be watched for.

Firefighters working in the Wild & Scenic Area are employing light-on-the-land suppression tactics, which includes felling only the burned trees and snags (dead trees) that pose a risk to firefighters' safety. After fire suppression operations are finished, fire lines will be rehabilitated so they're less visible and more unlikely to cause erosion problems in the fall and winter.

The fire is 45 percent contained, and the suppression cost thus far is $767,428. The cause of the fire is being investigated.

The fire suppression operations are being conducted under the oversight of an Oregon Department of Forestry incident management team. Cooperators include the Bureau of Land Management and the Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife.

Fire suppression resources assigned to the White River Fire include 451 personnel, six helicopters, eight engines, four bulldozers and one water tender.

No structures are immediately threatened by the fire, but there are widely scattered homes, cabins and other structures around the fire's fringe. The nearest community is Pine Grove, approximately 2.5 miles south of the fire.

The Mt. Hood National Forest, Barlow Ranger District, is working with Oregon Department of Forestry to ensure public safety while recreating on the White River. Because the White River Fire is burning on both sides of the river, making the riverbank unsafe and causing visibility problems due to smoke, the Mt. Hood National Forest is asking kayakers to hold off using the Keeps Mill Campground launch site and others on the Forest until river passage is safe.

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