High Cascades Complex
8/29/2017 9:00 a.m.
Fire Information: (541) 316-8352
Crater Lake National Park West Rim Drive is now closed from Sunday night to Friday afternoon for road construction. Motorists and visitors to the area also need to be aware of delays on Highway 230 between Union Creek and the junction with Highway 138 due to road construction. There will also be delays on Highway 62 east of Mazama Village on the road to Fort Klamath due to firefighting efforts.
The Blanket Creek and Broken Lookout fires collectively grew approximately 2,000 acres yesterday. Due to the heavy smoke, aircraft were grounded. Because of the lack of air support and active burning conditions firefighters lost the opportunity to directly contain the Pup Fire (526 acres). An indirect strategy is now being developed.
Northwest Incident Management Team 7 is actively managing suppression of these fires as well as the Paradise, Windy Gap and Spruce Lake fires, which are located on parts of Crater Lake National Park and the Umpqua, Rogue River-Siskiyou and Fremont-Winema National Forests.
As a result of these fires, a number of area, road and trail closures are in place within the park and national forests. For specific closure information, visit https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/
A Level 1 Evacuation Notification is still in effect for Mazama Village in Crater Lake National Park. This is the first step in the “Be Ready, Be Set, Go!” system. A Level 1 notification means park visitors and residents should be aware they could be asked to leave the area and “Be Ready” to do so. For more information about evacuation levels and procedures, go tohttp://tinyurl.com/BeReady-
Yesterday’s Activity: The Blanket Creek Fire (10,493 acres) continued spreading east/southeast towards Highway 62 and further into the Sky Lakes Wilderness. Hand crews made good progress in preparing defensible space around Mazama Village infrastructure and chipping and removing small trees, brush and debris along Highway 62. The Spruce Lake Fire (5,765 acres) only expanded an additional 140 acres. Crews continued to prep Forest Road 68 to head off the Broken Lookout (3,728 acres) and Windy Gap (232 acres) fires. The Paradise Fire (568 acres) had minimal fire activity. The Sherwood Fire (77 acres) is in patrol status.
Today’s Planned Activity: Crews will be prepping indirect fire lines on the Blanket Creek Fire by clearing along hiking trails to the northeast of the fire and Highway 62. These are likely to be used as eventual containment lines. Indirect line construction associated with the Broken Lookout and Windy Gap Fires will also continue along Forest Road 68. The Spruce Lake Fire will continue to be monitored. If smoke conditions allow, helicopters, scooper aircraft and air tankers will be available to help check fire progression.
Weather and Fire Behavior: Today will be warm and dry. Winds may be similar to Monday and smoke will again permeate the area. Once again, high temperatures, low relative humidity, and marginally unstable atmosphere are expected to create active fire behavior today. Spot fires could readily ignite although persistent smoke may inhibit fire activity until later in the day.
Smoke Outlook and Closure Information: A full smoke forecast and detailed information about the area, road and trail closures associated with the fires on the High Cascades Complex can be viewed at: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/
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