Northwest Interagency Coordination Center: 7/19/2018 NWCC Morning Brief

Thursday, July 19, 2018

7/19/2018 NWCC Morning Brief

Morning Brief

Date/Time Stamp: Thursday, Jul 19, 2018, 07:09

Northwest Activity Summary

Yesterday was continued hot and dry with slight relief in high temperatures and minimum relative humidity. Gusty winds were again observed in western portions of the Columbia Basin. No lightning or precipitation occurred in the geographic area. PNW Team 2 (Schulte) has been mobilized to Substation and NW Team 9 (Goff) has been mobilized to Timber Crater 6. There were 25 new fires for 62 acres. Fire growth on existing fires was 32,012 acres.

Preparedness Levels

Northwest PL

Current	3-Day	10-Day	30-Day
3 (7/17)	4 (7/19)	4	3

National PL

3 (6/29)

Northwest Incident Activity

New Fires and Acres
25 fires for 62 acres
OR: 15 fires for 37 acres
WA: 10 fires for 25 acres

Large Fire Summary
New large incidents: 2
Reported incidents: 11 (OR: 9 WA: 2)

32,012 acres growth on existing incidents.

Northwest IMT Activity

NIMOs Committed: 0

Type 1 IMTs committed: 2
Type 2 IMTs committed: 6

National Fire Activity
Initial attack activity: Light (155) new fires

New large incidents: 14
Large fires contained: 7
Uncontained large fires: 50

National IMT Activity
Area Command Teams: 0

NIMOs committed: 0
Type 1 IMTs committed: 3
Type 2 IMTs committed: 8

*Nationally, there are 21 large fires being managed under a strategy other than Full Suppression

Northwest Current Incident Details

Incidents listed below meet large fire criteria and/or incidents with a Type 1 or 2 IMT assigned. Large incidents are defined as fires which are 100+ acres in timber or 300+ acres in grass/brush. For additional information on incidents no longer listed below please refer to the NW Large Incident Summary or Northwest Fires Utilizing Monitor, Confine, Point Zone Protection Suppression Strategies (YTD)

Incidents not Previously Reported: 2

Sugar Pine. OR-RSF-000331. IMT2, NW Team 13 (Gales). 12 NW of Prospect, OR. Start 7/15. Full Suppression. Cause: Lightning. 125 acres. 0% containment. Timber. Active fire behavior. T&E species habitat threatened. IMT2 assumed command at 0600 this morning.

Upriver Beacon. WA-NES-001637. IMT3. 3 mi NE of Spokane, WA. Start 7/17. Full Suppression. Cause: Unknown. 116 acres. 20% containment. Timber. Moderate fire behavior. Structures threatened. Continuing mop up.

Timber Crater 6. OR-CLP-000248. ICT3. 8 mi SE of Diamond Lake, OR. Start 7/15. Full Suppression. Cause: Lightning. 150 acres. 0% containment. Timber. Active fire behavior. IMT2, NW Team 9 (Goff) mobilizing. In brief at 1800 hours today.

Incidents Previously Reported: 9

Substation. OR-PRD-000730. OSFM Red Team (Yocum). 5 mi S of The Dalles, OR. Start 7/17. Full Suppression. Cause: unknown. 50,246 acres (+30,246). 0% containment. Grass and brush. Active fire spread susceptible to strong wind. Three communities threatened. Evacuations in progress. IMT1, PNW Team 2 (Schulte) mobilizing.

Garner Complex. OR-712S-016619. IMT1, ODF Team 2 (Cline). Josephine County. Start 7/15. Full Suppression. Cause: Lightning. 1,130 acres (+591). 8% containment. Timber. Active fire behavior. Steep terrain. Residences, timber resources, T&E species habitat, utilities, and air quality threatened. Complex includes Grave Creek, Pleasant, Section 14, Swamp, Spencer Creek, and several other smaller incidents.

Natchez. OR-RSF-000348. IMT2, NW Team 10 (Lawson). 15 miles SE of Cave Junction, OR. Start 7/15. Full Suppression. Cause: Lightning. 581 acres (+381). 0% containment. Timber. Active fire behavior. Steep terrain. Infrastructure, timber resources, riparian habitat, and air quality threatened.

Hendrix. OR-RSF-000278. IMT2, NW Team 12 (Harrod). 3 miles SW of Ashland, OR. Start 7/15. Full Suppression. Cause: Lightning. 550 acres (+380). 5% containment. Timber. Active fire behavior. Residences and private timber threatened. Evacuation notices in place. Steep, rugged terrain. Ashland watershed concerns.

South Umpqua Complex. OR-UPF-000264. IMT2, NW Team 6 (Sheldon). Near Tiller, OR. Start 7/15. Cause: Lightning. 500 acres (+300). 8% containment. Active fire behavior. Includes 20+ fires.

Cemetery 0701 RS. OR-PRD-000701. IMT2, NW Team 8 (Johnson) is mobilizing. 32 miles ESE of Prineville, OR. Start 7/16. Full Suppression. Cause: Lightning. 1,414 acres (+114). 50% containment. Timber. Moderate fire behavior. Infrastructure, sage grouse habitat and old growth threatened. Area and road closures.

Wagner Complex. OR-711S-008919. ICT3. Jackson County. Start 7/15. Full Suppression. Cause: Lightning. 250 acres (+50). 49% containment. Timber. Active fire behavior. Structures threatened.

Ben Lane. OR-WSA-000065. ICT3. Start 7/16. Full Suppression. 437 acres. 70% containment. Minimal fire activity. No new information. Last report on morning briefing unless significant activity occurs.

Rocky Reach. WA-SES-000322. ICT3. 7 miles N of Wenatchee, WA. Start 7/13. Full Suppression. Cause: Unknown. 3,386 acres. 70% containment. Grass and Brush. Minimal fire activity. Last report on morning briefing unless significant activity occurs.

Northwest Fire Weather Summary

Zonal flow aloft continues gradual cooling of the region through the weekend, along with gusty afternoon and evening winds in mountain gaps and the east side basins today. Red Flag Warnings are out for combination of wind and low relative humidity for this afternoon and evening. Check your local NWS for details and timing for your area. Despite the cooling trend, warm and dry conditions will persist through the week for most of the region. An upper level low moves down the British Columbia coast Friday and across southern BC this weekend, potentially drawing monsoonal moisture from the south for a chance of thunderstorms across southern Oregon. High pressure will build in behind this system, bringing a warming and drying trend for the beginning of next week.

Northwest Fire Potential Summary

Gusty winds in the Columbia Gorge and the basins east of the Cascades will again boost the behavior of new and existing fires again this afternoon and evening. Fire danger indices remain well above average for this time of year, keeping the risk of significant fires at normal to moderately high levels through the forecast period across the region except for northwestern Oregon and western Washington.

More info, see NW 7-Day Significant Fire Potential Forecast, and National 7-Day Significant Fire Potential Forecast

National Incident Management Situation Report (IMSR): https://www.nifc.gov/nicc/sitreprt.pdf

Other GACC Morning Reports: