8/26/2015 National Creek Fire Update

Fire Update – Tuesday, 08/26/2015 9:00 a.m. PDT

National Creek Complex Fire Information: 541-365-0940

Crater Lake National Park is open. Access is available from the South entrance off of State Highway 62. The north entrance road is closed.
State Highway 230 and Highway138 are open to the public and will stay open when conditions are safe. Check with Tripcheck.com or call 511 for current information and please reduce speed to allow for heavy fire traffic and dense smoke.
Fire containment levels have been raised from 10 to 25 percent. Firefighters are poised to take advantage of favorable conditions in the coming days to secure line on the western side of the fire.
Yesterday’s Activities: The fire continued to be active, experiencing some growth in its interior northwest of the pumice desert. This activity posed no threat to park visitors and visibility was good in the Park. Firefighters constructed fire line to the Bert Creek Trailhead and the Park boundary and continued to mop up near containment lines. Crews also scouted for potential hand line to the south of the fire.
Today’s Activities: Firefighters will construct fire line in the Soda Springs area to the west of the fire to prepare for burnout operations and will take advantage of existing features and road systems to improve containment. Crews will continue looking for spotting outside of containment lines on the fire’s north and east flanks and mop up any hot spots along Highway 230.

Quick Facts National Creek Complex Summary:

Location:
NW Boundary of Crater Lake Nat’l Park & Rogue River-Siskiyou & Umpqua National Forests
Size:
12,268 acres
Containment:
25%
Start Date:
August 1, 2015
Cause:
Lightning
Incident Commander:
Brian Goff,
OR IMT Team 4

Cooperating Agencies: National Park Service, US Forest Service, Oregon Department of Transportation.

Weather: Warm and dry again today with temperatures between 75° and 85°. Gusty winds of up to 30 mph from the south/southwest are expected in the afternoon. The relative humidity is predicted to be between 20-25%. Potential for fire spotting remains high in the lodgepole pine areas and firefighters are poised to respond.

Open and Closed:

 Rim Drive and all Crater Lake National Park facilities are open and accessible via the south entrance. The north Park entrance is closed. Smoke may impair visibility at certain times of the day, but sunrises and sunsets are spectacular.
 A segment of the Pacific Crest Trial is closed from the north park boundary to the junction with Lightning Springs Trail. A suggested reroute is posted along the trail.
 Area closure orders have been issued for the Rogue River-Siskiyou and Umpqua National Forests near Diamond Lake.
 There are trail closures in the National Park and on the Rogue River-Siskiyou and Umpqua National Forest.
 Diamond Lake and Thielson View campgrounds are now accepting reservations. The temporary hold on new reservations for these campgrounds has been lifted. Broken Arrow Campground remains closed.

Donations: Firefighters appreciate the public’s generosity but food donations are discouraged because of the highly specialized and protein-rich diet required by firefighters’ rigorous work. Firefighters appreciate donated stamped postcards from the area that they can send home. Charitable donations may also be made to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation or the Red Cross.