09/07/2014 790 Fire Update

790 Fire Update

9/7/2014 9:00 a.m. PT

Fire Information: (206) 947-9729

http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4095

A public meeting will be held Monday night at the Prospect Community Center located at 305 Red Blanket Rd., Prospect, Oregon. This meeting will begin at 7pm.  Fire and agency officials will be on hand to present information regarding current and planned operations.

Yesterday's Evenings Operations-- After several days of hot and dry weather, gusty east winds pushed the fire down Big Ben Creek drainage. The fire spotted out of the SW flank and spread west an additional 555 acres. The fire has reached the boundary of the Sky Lakes Wilderness with several spot fires west into Jackson County. Fixed wing aircraft and helicopters worked into the evening to limit the fire spread. Based on current infrared mapping, the fire was held in check on the ridge above the Wickiup Creek drainage. The direct line against the fire is still intact on the north, east, and southern flanks. The fire remains east of the indirect contingency line. To ensure firefighter safety, crews on the western flanks came off the fire line yesterday.  Brushing and clearing the contingency lines outside the west side the wilderness continued.

Weather and Fire Behavior – Smoke may hamper air operations early in the day as an inversion is not expected to lift before 11am. Winds will start out light, 3-6 mph with gusts of 9 mph out of the northwest on the ridges in the afternoon. Partly cloudy and very dry conditions remain with only a slight increase in relative humidity.  Forest fuels are critically dry. Individual and group tree torching, active interior fire and pockets of flare ups could occur as a result of the weather today.

Today's Operations – Crews will begin to work to connect the northwest corner of the fire with the indirect contingency line to the west. Helicopters will be used to reinforce the retardant line on the ridge to the south of the SW flank of the fire. Crews will continue on the indirect contingency line which will be extended further south on existing roads.

Closures - A new closure order was issued yesterday which will include all Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest lands east of the western boundary of the Forest between the Middle Fork of the Rogue River and Whiskey Springs Campground. The closure includes all the area between the Forest boundary and the wilderness boundary. Maps and closure information will be posted on inciweb http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/closures/4095/

The Pacific Crest Trail remains closed from the south boundary of Crater Lake National Park south to Highway 140.  In addition, other trails near the fire area are closed within the Sky Lakes Wilderness. Pacific Crest Trail information is available at http://www.pcta.org/.

The 790 Fire is located 10 miles southeast of Prospect, Oregon and is burning in the Sky Lakes Wilderness. The fire is being fought with the objective of immediate full suppression, using tactics suitable to management objectives in the wilderness including utilizing natural barriers and containment lines

Quick Facts Incident Summary
Approximate Size:	2900 acres
Fire Containment:	30%
Incident Commander:	Brett Fillis
Resources on the Fire:	Crews: 20 Helicopters: 10 Water Tenders: 4
Total Personnel:	674