Yesterday, the Deception Creek Fire stayed within established control lines and continued to burn islands of unburned vegetation. This has produced periods of heavy smoke in the nearby communities of Oakridge and Westfir and dispersed smoke elsewhere depending on the transport winds at the time. An infrared flight over the fire area has been used on previous nights to determine the hot spots or heat signatures within the fireline. The burned acres have been increasing to reflect the additional areas burned. Todays estimate of acres burned has not increased because a the infrared imaging could not penetrate a heavy cloud cover over the fire last night.
This morning, light rain started to fall in Oakridge and over the fire. Predictions today are for continued sporadic 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.
No helicopters were utilized yesterday to drop water on the fire, due to minimal fire activity. Some additional heavy equipment will be used today to clean up cut vegetation from fire line construction efforts. Three to four large wood chippers will be used on recently cleared roads along the eastern perimeter of the fire. A wood grinder, capable of shredding large diameter material will also be used.
The 600 firefighters, 4 helicopters, 19 engines, 2 dozers, and 11 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 again today. For additional air quality information see the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency website at oregonsmoke.blogspot.com or 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
Fire Summary
Size: 5,960 acres
Containment: 80%
Personnel: 600
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.
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