9/11/2017 Umpqua North Complex Update

Current Information:

The public is invited to an Open House tonight, Monday, Sept. 11 in Roseburg from 5-7 p.m. at the Umpqua National Forest office, 2900 NW Stewart Parkway. There will be stations covering the Umpqua North Complex, Falcon Complex, and Horse Prairie Fires. Officials from these fires, Douglas County Commissioners' office, Douglas County Sheriff's Office, Pacific Power, Douglas Public Health Network, DFPA, and the Forest Service will be on hand.

The soldiers of US Army Task Force Spearhead, from Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington, completed their training on Saturday and went to work on the fire line Sunday.  They were assigned to the Devil, Brokentooth and Ragged Ridge Fires, improving containment lines and creating hose lays to put water directly on the fire.

On the east side of the complex, the primary containment line is complete utilizing power line corridors, existing Forest Service roads and dozer lines.   The Ragged Ridge Fire is burning on both sides of the Boulder Creek drainage; resources continue to work actively in that area.  Firefighters worked directly on the west and southwest flanks of the Devil fire to check this fire in its current footprint. 

The western flank of the Ragged Ridge Fire is secure, and crews continue to improve fire lines on the west flank of the Happy Dog Fire.  The Fall Creek Fire is 100% contained; suppression repair work is almost completed and will then move to patrol status. 

Peak fire activity was noted between 3p.m. and 5p.m. on Sunday, and air support was used to help put these flames out.   Now that much of the smoke has cleared, helicopters can fly again and assist the firefighters on the ground.  Some of the areas still burning in the complex are very remote and difficult to access from the ground.  Sunday night’s shift was quiet with minimal fire activity.

Today, the weather will be warm and dry with high temperatures between 85 and 95 degrees, and minimum relative humidity down to 20 percent.  Crews will be working hard to mop up the accessible perimeters of the fires. 

Evacuations:

The areas of Dry Creek, Illahee, and Slide Creek along Highway 138 East (Mile Markers 53 to 56) and the Clearwater area (Mile Markers 56 to 61) are in Level 1 Evacuation Notice “Be Ready.”  Umpqua River campgrounds are potentially threatened and evacuations remain in place.

Road Closures:

As of 7:00 p.m., Thursday, September 7, vehicles began piloting through the wildfire zone on Highway 138 East, between Mile Markers 47-53. Be aware that conditions could change at any time and could close the highway due to safety concerns, including rock fall, trees falling and rolling debris.

The Umpqua National Forest remains closed in areas of the North Umpqua and Diamond Lake Ranger Districts. The North Umpqua River remains closed to boaters and anglers from Soda Springs Dam to the Susan Creek Campground. The north shore of the North Umpqua River from FR 4714 (Panther Creek Road) to Susan Creek has been reopened to anglers only. For more information on forest closures see Public Notices at https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/Umpqua/alerts-notices.

The latest Umpqua North Complex Information can be found at: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5505/