9/16/2014 790 Fire Update

The Pacific Crest Trail from the southern boundary of Crater Lake National Park to Highway 140 is now open for pass-through use.

A transfer of command from the Oregon Interagency Incident Management Team 3 (OR-IIMT-3) back to the local unit will occur Wednesday morning, and the fire will be managed by a Type 3 organization with Larry Pingle as Incident Commander. The organization will operate from the High Cascades Ranger District office. OR-IIMT-3 wishes to thank the local community, cooperators and private landowners for their cooperation in assisting the team in the suppression efforts.  Information regarding the 790 Fire will be available at Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest Supervisor’s Office at 541-618-2200. This will be the last update from OR-IIMT-3. 

Location: 10 miles southeast of Prospect, Oregon and 10 miles northwest of Rocky Point, Oregon burning primarily in the Sky Lakes Wilderness.

Current situation:  3,023 acres, 85% contained, 352 firefighters assigned.

Yesterday’s Operations– Firefighters continued mop up on the western portion of the fire by extinguishing hotspots along the fires edge.  The sprinkler systems established on the northwest flank in Big Bend Creek will remain in place wetting the line there.  Excess supplies and equipment were removed from the fire by helicopters.  Camp crews were busy rolling hoses and packing supplies for return to the fire cache in Redmond, OR.  The north, south and east flanks of the fire were patrolled by aircraft and field personnel.

Today’s Operations –Helicopters will continue to support firefighters to backhaul the remaining spike camp supplies, excess equipment, and shuttle crews from the fire.  Crews will continue to repair suppression impact within secured areas of the fire to minimize erosion.  These repair measures include; masking chain saw cuts, covering exposed soil and constructing water bars.

Weather and Fire Behavior – Daytime temperatures are expected to reach 65-74 degrees, and minimum relative humidity is forecasted to be in the mid-teens to the mid-twenties.  Gusty winds coupled with dry fuels could potentially increase fire activity.

Closures:

The closure area has been redefined and is now entirely within the Sky Lakes Wilderness.  All trails within the wilderness, including the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), on both the Rogue River-Siskiyou and Fremont-Winema National Forests are now open. The fire area west of the PCT remains closed due to public safety concerns, which include fire-weakened trees, helicopter operations, and burning debris within the fire perimeter.  Roads immediately west of the fire outside of the wilderness also remain closed to reduce conflicts between fire operations and the public.  The revised area closure and details can be found at www.fs.usda.gov/rogue-siskiyou or http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4095. Pacific Crest Trail information is available at http://www.pcta.org/.

Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR): A TFR is in place over the fire. Please check the NOTAM for current information.