FIRE FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/mthoodnf?ref=hl
INFO PHONE: 360-280-4352 or 503-630-1711 Office Hours: 8:00 am -8:00 pm
EMAIL: 36pitfire@gmail.com
** A community meeting is scheduled
for tonight, September 24th at 7:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Estacada
First Baptist Church – 29101 SE Eagle Creek Rd. The objective of the meeting will be to
update the community on the current fire situation and the operational outlook
over the next week.
Firefighters are wrapping up the
northwest and northern perimeter of the fire located north of Highway 224 and
removing hose from fire lines. At the
southern perimeter of the fire located south of Highway 224, crews continue to
mop up, and are using thermal imaging cameras to find and extinguish hot
spots. Today, firefighters intend to
complete containment lines at the northwest corner of the fire located south of
the main stem of the Clackamas River and west of the South Fork of the Clackamas
River. Stopping the progression of the
fire toward the west continues to be the priority.
Overnight, approximately a ½ inch
of rain fell on the fire area. More rain
is predicted for today. The rain will
slow the fire spread and lower fire intensity (flame length) allowing
firefighters to directly attack the fire front and put out hot spots adjacent
to the fire line. In heavily forested
areas, much of the rain is intercepted by the tree canopy and may not reach
some areas of the forest floor, but greatly increases the relative
humidity. Heavy dead fuels are still
very dry and have moisture contents as low as 13-14 percent. A fire season ending event of heavy rain and
long duration is needed to make the fuels less flammable. Rain also exposes firefighters to additional
safety hazards due to slick walking and driving conditions.
In order to
contain the fire within the South Fork of the Clackamas River at the south,
firefighters are “prepping” roads to be used as indirect containment lines outside
the wilderness area. “Prepping of roads
consists of removing understory small trees and brush. This decreases the intensity of fire and
strengthens containment lines should the fire approach. We are working to minimize acres burned while
evaluating firefighter success versus their exposure to risk.
Minimum impact
suppression tactics (MIST) are being implemented in portions of the fire
located in congressionally designated wilderness areas. Examples of MIST tactics include building the
necessary but minimum width and depth of fire lines or cutting small trees and
brush flush to the ground.
Helicopters with
water buckets and other aircraft will be used as necessary to support crews on
the ground today. Two Type 1 heavy
helicopters, one medium Type 2 helicopter, and two light Type 3 helicopters are
currently assigned to the fire.
The fire is now
estimated to be 5,508 acres in size and at 55 percent contained. The 78 acre
spot fire located to the northwest of the main fire is now completely mopped up
with no hot spots or smoke visible.
Hazards to crews include: extremely steep terrain presenting crews with
footing difficulties; rolling debris; and fire weakened trees. Heavy deep fuels also present challenges to
contain the fire.
Investigators have determined that the 36 Pit Fire started as the
result of bullet fragments igniting fine dry fuels at the origin area of the
fire. Investigators confirmed this finding with witness observations,
fire progression maps, and physical evidence collected at the specific origin
area. The fire started in an area popular with target
shooters. Information gathered up to this point indicates that the fire
was not intentionally caused and the 36 Pit was open to recreational target
shooting at the time of the incident.
Although the Forest Service supports responsible target shooting,
shooters should also be aware that bullets with steel components and solid
copper jackets impacting rocks or metal have the potential to produce hot
fragments which can readily cause a fire, given the right weather and fuel
conditions. For information about how rifle bullets can ignite a fire
please visit the following website: http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_rp104.pdf . This has been an extraordinarily hot and
dry summer. Shooters should be aware of this and ensure that they
prepare accordingly.
Witness interviews are still being conducted. Anyone with information
relevant to the investigation should contact Phil Huff at 503-668-1686.
The Lazy Bend Camp and Work Center are evacuated and
closed.
Promontory Park is closed.
The La Dee OHV area is closed.
ROAD CLOSURES: ODOT has opened Highway 224 to residents and
workers only with valid identification. For
more information go to: www.oregon.gov/odot or tripcheck.com (maintained by Oregon
Department of Transportation for road and weather conditions).
The public is
urged to be aware of increased fire related traffic on local roads and to drive
defensively. For information related to
evacuations, please go to: http://www.clackamas.us or call
503-655-8224. Information related to smoke can be found at: www.oregonsmoke.blogspot.com.
For more information on the 36 Pit Fire, please use the contacts listed
above.
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