9/28/2017 Chetco Bar Fire Update

Community Meeting There will be a public meeting, hosted by the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, providing history of the fire, at the Brookings Harbor High School (525 Pioneer Road, Brookings, OR) today at 6:00 p.m.

Today Aircraft equipped with heat-sensing capability flew over the fire area Wednesday to capture the locations of any remaining heat. Crews will continue to patrol and monitor these areas of the fire, seeking hotspots and mopping-up. Firefighters work to repair suppression lines by clearing brush, chipping and road grading. This is necessary to repair damage and disturbance caused by the fire suppression actions taken. No visible smoke was seen on the Indigo fire yesterday. Repair work on the roads near the Indigo fire is completed. On Thursday morning, the Chetco Bar Fire transitioned from unified command to a single command structure under leadership of Chris Schulte, Pacific Northwest Team 2 – National Incident Management Team.  Under unified command, Tom Savage served as Incident Commander for Coos Forest Protective Association. His contribution to the incident, association members and area forestry has been tremendous. Agency representatives from the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Coos Forest Protective Association will continue to be integrally involved in planning and implementation of suppression and repair activities – providing leadership for the land and resources specific to their organizational units. Closures and Safety Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest and Bureau of Land Management Coos Bay District road and area closures remain in effect for all public lands adjacent to the Chetco Bar Fire area due to residual fire activity, heavy equipment in transit, and hazards presented by fire-weakened trees. Managers are assessing progress by firefighters, conditions on the ground, and other factors in order to reduce the scope of closures. Patience is requested and appreciated. For public and firefighter safety, please adhere to closures, whether staffed with road guards or unstaffed.  For further information, please call (541) 618-2200 or visit www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/rogue-siskiyou/alerts-notices. Weather and Fire Behavior Partly cloudy until noon, then sunny, ranging from 75-80 degrees. A cold front will arrive at the coast early Friday and then move onshore during the day. Expect minor smoldering activity and few smokes. Open flame remains unlikely. Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR) are in effect over the Chetco Bar Fire area. Before flying near the area, pilots are encouraged to check for the most current update at tfr.faa.gov