8/24/2020 Steet Mountain & Laurel Fire Update

 

Fire Summary:
Fire crews will continue to strengthen control lines, extinguish hot spots, and mop up. The Steet Mountain and Laurel Fires held at 701 acres and 1,280 acres, respectively. The Laurel Fire is burning on lands managed by Prineville BLM, the Wheeler County Rangeland Fire Protection Association, and ODF protected private lands six miles south of Spray in Wheeler County.

Narrow roads with dusty conditions continue to make access to water difficult for firefighters on the ground. Air resources will provide sup-port to ground crews with water drops.

A fire weather watch is in effect for Central and Northeast Oregon this afternoon through Tuesday evening due to gusty winds and low humidity. Abundant lightning and gusty outflow winds could impact fire suppression efforts. These conditions will challenge fire crews as they work to hold and strengthen fire lines.

Heavy regional smoke from California will remain in the area. People who are sensitive and may experience respiratory symptoms may need to take precautionary measures. Smoke sensitive individuals are ad-vised to stay inside whenever possible. For updated smoke information go to: oregonsmoke.blogspot.com

Continued support provided by the local communities has helped our suppression efforts. Firefighter and public safety are our highest priority during this incident, including COVID mitigation. The incident command post and fire camp are closed to the public to ensure safety of the public and the Firefighters.