9/25/2017 High Cascades Complex - West Zone Update

High Cascades Complex - West Zone Update

Northwest Interagency Incident Management Team 8, Incident Commander: Tim Keith

September 25, 2017

Special Announcements:

Northwest Interagency Incident Management Team 8, Incident Commander, Tim Keith, assumed management of the High Cascades Complex - West Zone this morning at 7:00 am.  The incident command post (ICP) is located at the Joseph Stewart State Park near Lost Creek Reservoir southwest of Prospect, Oregon.

Air Quality: For the most, up to date air quality reported for your area see Air Now http://www.airnow.gov/ or the Oregon Smoke Blog http://oregonsmoke.blogspot.com

Fire Information Center: (541) 316-8352 Available 8:00 am to 9:00 pm.

Information Websites: Inciweb – https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5503 and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/R6RRSNF and https://facebook.com/UmpquaNationalForest/

Current Fire Information: The High Cascades Complex - West Zone is a compilation of fires started by lightning storms earlier this summer.  The West Zone consists of the Pup and the Broken Lookout Fires.  Both fires are partially burning in and outside of the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness on the Rogue River-Siskiyou (RRSNF) and Umpqua National Forests (UPNF).

Pup – 8,222 acres, 12% contained.  Located northwest and southeast of Hershberger Lookout partially in the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness.  Firefighters are chipping debris generated by prepping forest roads for use as containment line and mopping up any hotspots.

Broken Lookout – 18,911 acres, 24% contained. Located directly west of Union Creek on the southern end of the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness where it is burning on both sides of the Wilderness. Firefighters continue prepping forest roads for use as containment lines, chipping the debris generated and mopping up hotspots to secure containment lines.

Resources:  Total personnel assigned to the Complex (both west and east) – 853: 2-type 1 crews,  2-type 2 IA crews, 17-type 2 crews, 6-camp crew, 21-engines, 5-masticators, 3-medium helicopters, 2- light helicopters, 2-dozers, 8-water tenders, and 192 overhead.

Air Operations:  A temporary flight restriction (TFR) is in place over the fire area restricting aerial public access.  Please check the NOTAMs prior to flying. The public is reminded all air operations are grounded any time a drone is sighted within the TFR, delaying fire suppression efforts. Flying within the TFR is prohibited and against the law.

Weather:  A weak disturbance will move through the region today. This will increase the mid to upper level cloud cover, possibly lowering temperatures over the fire areas. Tomorrow a warming and drying trend is expected throughout the week. Temperatures will increase to 70-80 degrees with relative humidity dropping to the 25-35 percent range.

Behavior:  Minimal ground spread of fire is expected today with no perimeter growth. Creeping and smoldering may re-establish in the litter, duff and jackpots of dead and down fuels.

Closures:  Multiple area, trail, and Forest road closures are limiting public access into specific areas for public safety on the RRSNF and UPNF.  “Know before you go” by visiting https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5503 or your local Forest office.