9/03/2014 South Fork Complex and Bald Sisters Fire Update

With most of the work completed on line building and suppression repair, the Type 3 Incident Management Team released most of the firefighting resources from the South Fork Complex and Bald Sisters Fire.

The Blue Mountain Ranger District Type 3 Incident Management Team will continue to manage the South Fork Complex, while fire managers at the Prairie City Ranger District resumed command of the Bald Sisters Fire as of Tuesday. As fire activity decreases, the Forest may further modify the closure areas. The official Area Closure Orders are available athttp://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/malheur/alerts-notices.

A dry cold front with high winds moved across the Forest last night bringing strong west/northwest winds and drier conditions to the fire area. Today is expected to be cooler, but temperatures will quickly recover to the low 70’s by Thursday and steadily increase into the weekend. A wind shift to northeast is expected beginning Thursday. While neither fire has increased in size since last week, continued burning inside firelines is expected. Smoke may become more visible as temperatures rise. Mostly local firefighters continue to maintain, repair, and patrol fire lines, monitoring for fire spread and new fire starts.

On the South Fork Complex, crews continue to mop-up 100 feet within the fire line along 97% of the perimeter. On the remaining fire front, winds kicked up fire activity along the 2150 Road on the northeast side of the fire, where more than 2 miles of hose and 6 portable water tanks remain in place.
A Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation (BAER) team convened yesterday on the South Fork Complex to assess fire impacts to natural and cultural resources; they are also evaluating options for reducing threats to public safety posed by hazard trees, especially along Highway 24, which remains closed.

FIRE RESTRICTIONS: Effective September 1,the north half of the Malheur National Forest moved to Phase A of the Public Use Restrictions (PURs), which addresses use of campfires, chainsaws (firewood cutting), internal combustion engines, smoking, generators, and off-road/off-trail vehicle travel. The south half of the Forest remains in Phase B of the PURs, which prohibits or restricts use of campfires, chainsaws (firewood cutting), internal combustion engines, smoking, generators, and off-road/off-trail vehicle travel. The specific PURs information can be found at this location: http://www.fs.usda.gov/malheur/.

Forest officials encourage everyone to be safe and careful when recreating or using the National Forest. Forest officials want to remind visitors to check frequently with local district offices on fires in the area and closures associated with fire activity.

The public is responsible for knowing if restrictions are in place and can obtain information through many avenues:

Call the Forest’s offices or District offices at:

· Malheur National Forest Supervisor’s Office/Blue Mountain Ranger District: 541-575-3000

o Prairie City Ranger District: 541-820-3800

o Emigrant Creek Ranger District: 541-573-4300

OR Visit the Forests websites at:

· http://www.fs.usda.gov/malheur/.

Visitors in the areas should be aware of the additional fire traffic on Forest Roads, as well as main highways and drive with caution.

Maps and other information of the fires are available online athttp://inciweb.nwcg.gov. For further information, please contact the Malheur National Forest at 541-575-3000.

To report wildfires, please contact John Day Interagency Dispatch at 541-575-1321 or Burns Interagency Communication Center at 541-573-1000.