9/16/2017 Horse Creek & Rebel Fire Update

September 16, 2017 - 9:00 a.m. Fire Information: 541-719-8371 or email: WillametteWildfires2017@gmail.com Rebel Fire:  8,653 acres Horse Creek Complex: Olallie Lookout Fire, 1,572 acres; Roney Fire, 3,548 acres; Avenue Fire, 2,962 acres; Separation Fire, 17,747 acres; Nash Fire, 6,738 acres. Total all fires: 41,220 acres Current Resources:  Personnel, 542; Crews, 13; Helicopters, 2; Engines, 27; Dozers, 4; Water Tenders, 6; Masticators, 1; Skidgens, 2. Current Situation:  Avenue Fire:  The Avenue Fire is being contained on the north by burning ground vegetation along forest roads and dozer lines. The fire continues to move west on the ridge top south of Horse Creek and made it down to King Creek. A wind direction change produced an increase in smoke to unhealthy levels around McKenzie Bridge. Smoke prevented helicopter water drops on the north side of the fire on Friday. The east edge of the fire is slowly advancing toward the Roney fire. Smoke from the Avenue fire will continue as unburned trees and vegetation within the perimeter ignite. Separation Fire: Firefighters finished protection efforts near Melakwa Boy Scout Camp and are beginning mop up efforts. Resource Advisors visited the Camp to assess environmental needs. Crews are also working to protect resources at Scott Lake Campground and Frog Camp. Nash Fire:  Firefighters hiked in seven miles and used bladder bags (backpack water pumps) to manage movement of the fire as it smolders and creeps through the ground cover on the south perimeter. Little movement of the fire has been noted along the southeast edge toward the Cascade Lakes Highway. The fire is being closely monitored and additional actions will be taken residences, businesses and infrastructure along the highway are threatened. Tree cutting to produce a fuel break along the highway has been completed, and crews are cleaning up brush and slash. A pilot car will continue leading vehicles to slow traffic past crews and heavy equipment. Travel delays, limited visibility due to smoke, and heavy equipment traffic will continue. Rebel Fire:  Moderate fire activity was noted along the southeast edge and crews continue to improve their control lines. Roney and Olallie Lookout Fires: Crews are monitoring both fires. Evacuations:  No change was noted in evacuation levels in the McKenzie areas. Go to http://bit.ly/2gPHzAn for details and map for information in Lane County. In Deschutes County, contact the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office for more information, (541) 693-6911 orwww.deschutes.org/emergency. Flight Restrictions: A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is in place over the fires to provide a safe environment for firefighting aircraft operations. It is not legal to operate drones within a TFR. Pilots looking for more information on the TFR should go to http://tfr.faa.gov/tfr2/list.html National Forest Closure Orders:  Current information about closures on the Willamette and Deschutes National Forests is available at:  https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/willamette/fire/?cid=fseprd552029 http://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/Deschutes/alerts-notices.