8/4/2014 9:00 am Castle Fire Update (including Bridge 99 Complex)

Castle Fire and Bridge 99 Complex for Monday, August 4, 2014 at 09:00:

Sisters OR – The Castle Fire is located south of the Metolius River on the Sisters Ranger District of the Deschutes National Forest.  This lightning-caused fire started on August 1, 2014 and is burning on steep, rocky ground directly above the Metolius River.  The fire is slowly burning towards the north, down the canyon to the river.  The primary force driving this fire is the burning material rolling or falling down the hillside igniting the vegetation below.  Fortunately, the broken/rocky conditions below the fire are catching many of the rolling debris.

Today fire crews will continue construction of direct hand fire line where safely possible along the south and east flanks of the fire.  Firefighters will explore other possible indirect fire lines deeper in the canyon towards the river to contain this fire.  The south side of the fire has fire hoses installed to better secure that segment of line.  Helicopters will assist firefighters by cooling hot spots or spot fires ahead of the fire.

Today, the weather is expected to be in the high 80's at the top of the fire and in the low 90's at the bottom of the canyon.  Winds are predicted to be light and the relative humidity (the amount of moisture in the air) will be around 20%.  A light cooling trend will occur during the next few days creating a more favorable condition for fire suppression.

Safety concerns for the firefighter remains paramount.  Snags will be safely removed before crews begin their work and heat-related injury (heat stroke and exhaustion) prevention will be emphasized.

A pubic meeting will be held tonight at the Lake Chinook Village Store (8241 SW Jordan Road, Culver, OR) at 7:00 p.m.   Fire officials and local agency personnel will present a status of the fire, display maps, and answer questions.

There are no evacuation orders in place.

An area closure order from the Deschutes National Forest is in effect for the fire area, refer to the map that can be found in the maps section of http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4047/

The Monty Campground is closed to the public.

Forest Road 11 and 1170, and a segment of County Road 64 from Perry South to Monty Campground are closed.

The Bridge 99 Complex fire suppression efforts are being supported by firefighters based at the Incident Command Post at the Sisters Middle School.  The 5,082 acre Bridge 99 Fire is 95% contained as mop-up work continues.  The 616 acre Bear Butte 2 Fire is being monitored and has not progressed during the past few days.

For additional information on this fire, including maps, closure orders, photos, current status, and notices, please visit: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4047/.