6/14/2015 - Buckskin Fire PM Update

June 14, 2015, PM

Buckskin Fire – Cave Junction, Oregon

Incident Commander Doug Johnson

Information Center – 541-597-2223  NEW INFORMATION CENTER NUMBER

Inciweb: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4286/

(NOTE: Information inserting difficulties are occurring with Inciweb; please be patient.)

Email: Buckskinfire2015@gmail.com

Current Situation:

Firefighters aggressively engaged the Buckskin Fire from the air and on the ground today. The fire moved to the east side of Baldface Creek today and grew to 1,400 acres. Crews began improving existing trails on the west side of the fire by cutting brush and improving trails for a potential contingency containment line.  Dozers improved existing roads on the southeast and southwest flank. 10 helitack and 4 rappellers were flown into the spot fires south/southwest of the main body of the fire and directly worked the spot fires assisted by helicopter water drops.

Firefighters will stay at two spike camps, located closer to the fire in order to reduce travel time and increase productivity. 

Towns in the Illinois and Rogue Valleys may be impacted by smoke to varying degrees due to the shift in wind direction. Those shifting winds are expected to persist for the next several days.  Detailed air quality information can be found on Oregon Smoke Information at http://OregonSmoke.BlogSpot.com.

Closures:

The Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest managers, working with fire management officials, issued a Fire Area Closure Order closing access to land surrounding the fire for public safety. The order in its entirety can be reviewed on the Buckskin Fire Inciweb site (see above) and from the Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest web page.

Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR): A TFRs is in place over the Buckskin Fire. Please check the NOTAMs for current information.

The public is urged to drive cautiously on Highway 199 and nearby areas due to the increase of fire traffic. Forest visitors are encouraged to use caution when using public lands due to the current fire danger.

Start Date - June 11, 2015

Cause - Lightning 

Resources - Crews – 10   Dozers - 2    Water Tenders - 6      Helicopters – 8   Total Personnel -366