7/4/2018 Lobster Creek Fire Update

 Firefighters on the Lobster Creek Fire and fires across the nation are wishing everyone a happy 4th of July. On this anniversary of independence, firefighters are encouraging everyone to act responsibly with fireworks and other spark emitting activities that could to lead to another devastating wildland fire. Wildland firefighters cherish our country’s beauty and work hard every day to preserve it. Their message is simple, “only you can prevent wildfires”.

Acres burned on the Lobster Creek Fire remain unchanged at 446. Containment has reached 15 percent. Personnel on the fire has grown to over 700, which typically means that the fire is growing. In this fire’s case, with much of the fire season still remaining, reinforcements were brought in to eliminate any chance of the fire rekindling and escaping in the future. Crews are transitioning from building containment lines to mop-up operations. The objective will be to seek out and destroy any hot spots near containment lines that pose a risk of escape. Sawyers will also fall hazard trees (snags) that could potentially fall across containment lines and start new fires. In addition, several “islands” of unburned vegetation still remain within the perimeter of the fire’s footprint. So again, with much of the fire season remaining, fire crews will construct additional control lines around these islands to prevent any future escape.

The Lobster Creek Fire started Sunday afternoon within a Curry County park and subsequently spread to private industrial timberlands. It quickly grew to an estimated 446 acres by Monday morning and required the support of an Incident Management Team from the Oregon Department of Forestry.

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