7/16/2014 7;30 am White River Fire Nears Containment

NEWS RELEASE - WHITE RIVER FIRE

Despite withering heat, fire crews working to extinguish the 652-acre White River Fire significantly expanded their mop-up operation, bringing the containment level to 80 percent today. Full containment is expected by the end of the week.

The cause of the fire, which started July 12, is being investigated.
Resources assigned to the White River Fire suppression effort include:

·         458 personnel
·         Two Type II (medium) helicopters
·         Two Type III (light) helicopters
·         Ten engines
·         Two bulldozers
·         One water tender

Costs so far have reached $1.5 million.

Some resources, mostly personnel, will be released from the White River Fire today. It is likely that firefighters and equipment will get reassigned to other fires burning in the region.

Firefighters today will be working under Red Flag Warning conditions: 100-degree heat, humidity below 20 percent and stronger winds. This will raise the likelihood of increased fire activity deep inside the fire line where there are scattered unburned fuels and numerous hot spots. Hose lines and portable water ponds have been set up to stretch mop-up capabilities deep into the White River Canyon.

Night shift firefighters have been using hand-held infrared devices to detect buried pockets of heat.

The White River Fire is on land protected by the Oregon Dept. of Forestry's Central Oregon District. Much of the land is wilderness inside the White River Wild and Scenic Area, under the administration of the Bureau of Land Management. The Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife administers other lands inside the fire area for wildlife conservation purposes.

Fire suppression operations are run by the Oregon Dept. of Forestry Incident Management Team 1 led by Incident Commander John Buckman. Crews and support personnel from across the state have been running the fire suppression operation out of an incident command post at Wasco County Fairgrounds in Tygh Valley.

OREGON DEPT OF FORESTRY
INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM 1

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