8/6/2015 Phillips Creek Fire Update

This afternoon, increased smoke in the area from the Phillips Creek Fire is primarily due to strategic firing operations. Firefighters are hand lighting areas of unburned fuels within the fire lines from Middle Ridge towards Highway 204. For the next several days this will likely continue and the public can expect to see smoke in concentrated areas of the fire. This suppression effort is important and necessary to remove fuel adjacent to the fire lines to further secure the fire.

This afternoon on State Highway 204 flaggers are in place to provide for public safety, though travelers should expect delays and consider alternate routes to avoid firefighter traffic and smoke.

Smoke continues to be an issue in the Grande Ronde Valley and surrounding communities. To monitor the air quality index, the public can access the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s website at www.deq.state.or.us/aqi.

Smoke information is also available for communities affected by wildfire smoke at the Oregon Smoke blogspot at http://www.oregonsmoke.blogspot.com/

Phillips Creek Fire information can be found on Inciweb at: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4443/ and on Facebook at Phillips Creek Fire | Facebook.