7/26/2014 9:00 am Bingham Complex Fire Update

Bingham Complex Fire Information

503 854-4210

Bingham Complex transitions to local management team

Contingency line shaping up

Detroit, OR – Fire activity on the Bingham Complex was quiet yesterday, with some smoke emerging from the interiors of the 275-acre Bingham Ridge and 175-acre Lizard fires.  Today, staffing is decreasing from eight hand crews to two, the right size needed to complete scheduled work on a contingency line, approximately ½ mile west of the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness Area. 

Hand crews are continuing a combination of brushing, chipping and mastication to reduce fuels along a 10.9-mile contingency fire line.   One engine crew continues to monitor, patrol and increase the depth of mop-up on the Bingham Ridge Fire.  One 10-person fire module continues to be assigned to the Lizard Fire.

Management of the Bingham Complex will transition to a Type 4 organization working from the Detroit Ranger District on Sunday, July 27, 2014.  The helibase is being demobilized today.  One Type III helicopter will remain assigned to Bingham Complex, staged at Detroit.  The Fire Information telephone 503 854-4210 remains available.

Because of reduced fire behavior and firefighting activity, area and trail closures in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness Area are changing.  The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) (2000), the Swallow Lake Trail (3488) east of the junction with Lake of the Woods Trail (3493), and the Lake of the Woods Trail (3488) south of the junction with Swallow Lake Trail (3488) are reopening.  Forest Road 2253 (Minto Rd.) is reopened.  The following trails remain closed: Pamelia (3439), Hunts Creek (3451), Hunts Cove (3430), Grizzly Peak (3428), Bingham (3421), Lake of the Woods (3493) north of the Swallow Lake Trail (3488) junction, Minto Mountain (3448), and Newport Drive (3438). Entry is restricted to firefighters, agency personnel and law enforcement.

Announcements about closure changes and the current status of the Bingham Fire Complex can be viewed at Inciweb http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/3949/ .

Fire Facts – Saturday, July 26 – 0900 HOURS
Fire Size:  Approximately 452 acres total for the five fires in Bingham Complex.    

Percent Contained:  Bingham Complex: 50%    Bingham Ridge Fire: 100%.

Evacuations: No homes or structures threatened.

Fuels:  Patchy high elevation subalpine fir and lodgepole pine forest with dead and fallen trees, aerial lichens, and accumulations of ground fuels.

Air Resources:  two Type III helicopters         

Engines: 1                  Masticators: 2                        Chippers: 2

Crews:  Two Type II crews and one 10-person fire module

Total Personnel:  Approximately 190