8/14/2020 Mosier Creek Fire Update

 Last night, the Mosier Creek Fire had little movement and crews were supported with lower winds and cooler temperatures.  An infrared flight was completed and the total acreage was updated to 971 acres. 

Oregon Department of Forestry crews and Oregon State Fire Marshal crews worked to enhance established fire lines and patrolled the line through the evening.  

“Our footprint stayed constant, due to the great work on night shift. Today is our first full day shift and the goal is to improve the line,” said Joe Hessel, ODF IMT 1 Incident Commander. Fire crews will begin laying hose lines to the fire (aka “plumbing the fire") to support mop-up and suppression operations. Structure crews from OSFM will begin residential and commercial structural assessments for damage, while also providing ongoing structure protection. 

Extreme weather will be a factor over the next three days. Temperatures are expected to reach mid 90s today and 100 degrees by the weekend. The area will see less humidity but slower winds today. Heavy fuels and pockets of unburned fuel could be factors for fire crews today. The health and safety of Gorge communities and fire crews is a critically important  piece of our mission. Our best management practices include a zero-tolerance policy for proper COVID-19 PPE, proper distancing and minimizing our physical interactions within the community. 

The number of threatened structures was initially released as approximately 900. Day-shift work on 8/13/20 supplied an updated number of 565. The fire burned two residential structures on August 12, 2020 during initial attack. The Red Cross has set-up a shelter for homeowners affected by the fire. To make emergency arrangements call 541-670-9093.

Winds and warmer temperatures caused the fire to grow at a rapid pace. Firefighters worked overnight to build containment lines despite the challenging weather conditions. Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) along with other agency and contract firefighting resources will work to contain the forward spread of the fire while resources from Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal (OSFM) will focus on protecting homes.

At 12:00pm Thursday incident management teams from Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal and Oregon Department of Forestry met at the Wahtonka Community School cafeteria to in-brief and join in unified command of the Mosier Creek Fire. Governor Kate Brown invoked the conflagration act which allows additional state firefighting resources to mobilize in protection of life and property.

Covid-19 proves to be a new challenge in regard to fighting large fires, but the commanders are committed to keeping everyone safe and minimizing the potential for Covid-19 spread. Crews are working in a “module of one” method that ensures firefighting resources do not come in contact with others that are outside of their assigned modules. All personnel assigned to the fire are required to follow Oregon Health Authority’s Guidance to reduce the spread of Covid 19. The incident commander for OSFM stated “This is a zero-tolerance policy.”