Sunday, June 21, 2015

06/20/2015 Buckskin Fire PM Update

Saturday, June 20, 2015, PM
Buckskin Fire – Cave Junction, Oregon
Fire Location: Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest
Incident Commander: Doug Johnson
Information Center – 541-597-2223

Oregon Interagency Incident Management Team 3 would like to invite the public to the Incident Command Post (Fire Camp) for a tour and information on the incident command system.  The guided tour will occur Sunday, June 21, 2015 at 2:00 pm at Mallard Loop Campground, Lake Selmac.  Please wear sturdy shoes, a hat and sunscreen.  Tours will last approximately 1.5 hrs.  Children are welcome!!

Another day of successful burnout operations occurred along the southeast containment lines (Forest Road 454 and Trail 1215) towards Biscuit Hill of the Buckskin Fire. Firefighters using drip torches and helicopters with heli-torches applied fire to burnout fuels between the main fire and containment lines.  Westerly winds assisted firefighters.  Mop-up of hotspots within 300 ft. of the east containment line began today. Mop-up depth will vary due to the danger to firefighters from falling snags inside containment lines. Mop-up will create the cold, blackened (reduced fuels) buffer needed to contain the fire.  Other flanks of the fire showed little to no activity.  Two 10-person fire crews continue to monitor fire behavior and weather on the west flank.

Excess resources no longer needed for containment of the fire are being released for reassignment or to return home.  Six pieces of heavy equipment and two crews were released today.

While Baldface Creek continues to flow at an acceptable level, based on monitoring by the fisheries resource advisor, water levels remain a concern due to the prolonged drought. As a result, two heliwells (self-contained tanks holding approximately 10,000 to 15,000 gallons of water) were ordered for use on the fire and will be located on private lands near the Illinois Valley Airport.  The treated bleach-water will become the main source of water for helicopters to use for fire suppression work. The treated water will mitigate the spread of Port Orford Cedar root rot disease.  Fire suppression guidelines from the National Marine Fisheries Service are being followed to avoid impacts to critical Coho salmon and other species habitat.

Acreage increase on the fire was predominately a result of the burnout operations within the containment lines. The fire is estimated at 4,500 acres and 25 percent contained.

Resource advisors are working closely with Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest specialists to develop rehabilitation guidelines.  These guidelines will address suppression impacts to the sensitive landscape and other resources. The plan will provide for the rehabilitation of all dozer lines, trails, containment lines, spike camps and other fire suppression related activities. Primary fire lines will remain in place to assure containment until the Forest deems it safe to rehabilitate.

Communities in the Illinois and Rogue Valleys may continue to be impacted by smoke. Those sensitive to smoke should be aware and take appropriate actions. Detailed air quality information can be found on Oregon Smoke at http://OregonSmoke.BlogSpot.com.

A Fire Area Closure Order remains in place closing forest land around the wildfire area to provide for public health and safety. For more information, please see the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, Buckskin Fire Inciweb, or Buckskin Fire Facebook web pages.

Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR):  A TFR remains in place over the Buckskin Fire.  Please check the NOTAMs for current information. 
Start Date - June 11, 2015  
Location - 10 miles southwest of Cave Junction on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest.
Cause - Lightning 
Resources - Crews – 11;  Dozers – 4; Engines – 6;  Water Tenders – 13;  Helicopters – 11
Total Personnel - 589
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