8/12/2017 Blanket Fire Update

Blanket Creek Fire Update August 12, 2017

Start Date: July 26, 2017   Cause: Lightning    Size: 4,820 acres   Containment: 41%    Personnel: 741

Location:  Approximately seven miles east of Prospect, Oregon

Current Situation: - Firefighters have had increasing success in containment on the Blanket Creek fire. The fire is currently 41% contained with many areas in mop up status. The hand line around the fire in the Lick Creek drainage on the northwestern edge continues to hold, with firefighters completing hand line up to the 6215 Rd.

At this time, no structures or private property are considered threatened. Many portions of the west side of the fire are in mop up, with 50ft-100ft of buffer being created to reinforce containment.

The fire continues to burn slowly on its eastern end within Crater Lake National Park, with minimal spread reported.  Hotshot crews completed hand line up to Union Peak yesterday, continuing to check the fire’s spread south of the peak.

The current plan is to continue using direct and indirect suppression techniques to contain the fire west and south of Union Peak. Standing snags, poor access, and rugged terrain provide significant challenges for firefighters to safely engage. 

Yesterday, Type 1 California Interagency Incident Management Team 3 (CIIMT3) took responsibility for initial attack (IA) operations on 459,999 acres of land, north of the Middle Fork of the Rogue River on the High Cascades Ranger District and all of Crater Lake National Park.  Initial reports identified over 37 smaller fires ranging in size from .10 of an acre to 20 acres within the IA area. Currently, all but three were staffed with IA resources with plans to staff them today. As containment continues to improve on both the Blanket Creek and Spruce Lake fires, resources are being reallocated to IA assignments in response to the lightning strike fires occurring over the past several days.

Fire Resources:

14 Fire Crews                              23 Fire Engines                            23 Water Tenders

7 Helicopters                               4 Bulldozers                                 Total Personnel: 741

Weather: The area is on a slight cooling trend over the next few days with temperatures in the low to mid 70s for the fire area. While the overall area has a slight chance of thunderstorms today, they will probably be north of the fire area. Winds are expected to pick up in the afternoon with gusts from 11-14 mph.

Smoke/Air Quality: Although smoke continues to linger in areas nearest to the fires, it can be expected to move towards the northeast in the afternoon.  Air quality will be ‘moderate’ in the area today.  New starts and increased fire activity have the potential to increase smoke output. Tourists at Crater Lake National Park will be able to view and smell smoke. To see smoke visibility in the area, check out the webcams on the Crater Lake NP websitehttps://www.nps.gov/crla/learn/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm. A full air quality report is available on inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5450/

Crater Lake NP Closures: PCT from Hwy 62 to South Park Boundary, Union Peak Trail, Stuart Falls Trail, Pumice Flat Trail. Additional closures in the park from the Spruce Lake Fire. Further information can be found https://www.nps.gov/crla/planyourvisit/conditions.htm.

Rogue River-Siskiyou NF Closures: FSR 6205 from Crater Lake NP boundary west to Forest Boundary. Information can be found athttps://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/rogue-siskiyou/

Community Meeting is scheduled for Sunday, August 13th at 6pm at Diamond Lake Campground Amphitheater.