9/17/2014 Deception Complex Fire Update

The Deception Creek Fire stayed within established control lines and continued to burn another 86 acres yesterday. Islands of unburned vegetation along the western perimeter of the fire continued to burn and produced events of heavy smoke.

A new weather pattern is developing over Western Oregon today that contains more moisture, lower temperatures and a denser cloud cover. Today, there is a slight chance of isolated thundershowers followed by further cooling. Thursday, there is a 50% chance of showers dropping 0.1 to 0.2 inches of rain.

The Deception Creek Fire continues to be managed under a full suppression strategy which is designed to keep the fire size as small as possible while maintaining public and firefighter safety, and protecting natural resources.

Mop up (extinguishing all burning material) along the perimeter of the fire is progressing as planned and may be completed within the next few days making the containment lines more secure. As more vegetation within the fire lines is burnt, fire managers feel more confident in meeting containment objectives.

The 671 firefighters, 4 helicopters, 37 engines, 2 dozers, and 15 water tenders assigned to the Deception Complex are poised to respond if the fire escapes any containment line.

Air quality over the communities of Westfir and Oakridge is expected to be in the low to moderate range today. For additional air quality information see the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency website at http://oregonsmoke,blogspot.com or http://www.lrapa.org.

The closure order placed over the Staley Fire has been terminated by the Willamette National Forest and all roads, trails and area previously closed are now open for public use. Other public use restrictions, area, road and trail closures can be viewed at: Willamette National Forest - fs.usda.gov/willamette or Umpqua National Forest - fs.usda.gov/umpqua

SUMMARY

Size: 5,960 acres

Containment: 75%

Personnel: 671

Location: 2 miles west of Oakridge, OR

Cause: lightning

Road Closures: Patterson Mountain Road and Forest Roads 2102, 5840, 5847, & 5850.

Trail Closures: Deception Trail #3466 and Lawler Trail #3473 are closed.