8/29/2017 Umpqua North Complex AM Update

Umpqua North Complex Update

Fire Information Line (541) 378-6944                                                UmpquaNorthComplex17@gmail.com

Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Recorded Information: (855) 419-2349

Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5505/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UmpquaNationalForest/

Incident: During the week of Aug. 9, lightning started dozens of fires across the northern Umpqua National Forest, along both sides of Highway 138 East, east of Roseburg in Douglas County, Ore. There are currently 14 active fires in the complex.

Incident Command:  Unified Command – Alaska Interagency Incident Management Team; Tom Kurth, Incident Commander, Douglas Forest Protective Association; Dan Thorpe, Incident Commander.

Current Size: 20,924 acres estimated total of complex based on an infrared flight on Aug. 27.

Containment: 7%

Current Resources:  Crews: 24; Helicopters: 3; Engines: 80; Dozers: 15; Water Tenders: 22; Masticators: 7; Skidgens: 5; Total Personnel:  1,074.

Hunters – Know Before You Go:

With bow hunting season open, hunters need to check for closures in the Umpqua National Forest before heading into the field. Fire managers are working with law enforcement to increase patrols and signage in closed areas.

Current Situation:

Based on an infrared flight Monday night, total burned acreage for the complex is estimated at 20,924 acres, an increase of almost 3,000 acres from Sunday. Containment for the total complex remains at 7 percent.

Despite another hot, dry day that saw temperatures climb into the high 90s and relative humidity drop into the mid teens, it was a productive shift for firefighters on Monday. Firing operations were used to tame a 30-acre spot fire that crossed Forest Road 28 on Sunday, which is serving as the primary containment line for the Happy Dog Fire south of Highway 138 East. Firefighters worked to construct indirect lines on roads around the fire to keep it from spreading east toward the highway. Crews also worked to build line around and mop up a 3 ½-acre fire found Sunday farther south in the Devils Canyon area.

On the Fall Creek Fire south of the highway, burnouts have been completed on all primary containment lines and they are holding well enough that firefighters halted work on contingency lines farther to the south. Firefighters are now focused on burning pockets of unburned fuel between the fire’s edge and the burnout to secure the edge.

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