9/20/20 Riverside Fire Update

Riverside Fire 20% Contained; Moderated Fire Activity Expected Today
 
“Our firefighters continue to make progress in strengthening and expanding containment lines near local communities,” said Incident Commander Alan Sinclair. "We understand the importance of getting back home and we are having daily conversations with the cooperators and are moving as quickly as possible to get residents back where they need to be."  
 
Cool, damp weather is expected to moderate fire activity again today. Yesterday firefighters were able to take advantage of improved visibility to fly a helicopter over the northeast side of the fire to conduct an aerial assessment in that area. An Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) was used to monitor fire activity on the southwest side of the fire.  Aircraft will continue to be used to support firefighters as needed and conditions allow. Infrared data continues to show heat near the fire’s perimeter. Hand crews, engines, and heavy equipment including bulldozers are working to contain the fire where they can do so safely and effectively.
 
 “Our aircraft are important when we use them, and we want to make sure that we have them available when we need it, so please keep any personal drones on the ground,” said Incident Commander Alan Sinclair.
If you fly, we can’t. A Temporary Flight Restriction is in effect (tfr.faa.gov). All fire aircraft will be grounded if a drone is spotted in the area. knowbeforeyoufly.org/uasandwildfires/
Firefighters are working to protect a wide variety of values at risk including: public and firefighter safety; local communities in Clackamas County; ancestral tribal lands; powerlines; recreation sites and facilities; hydropower and natural gas energy resources; communication sites; federal, state, and private forest resources; archaeological, historical, and cultural resources; designated wilderness areas and wild and scenic rivers; river ecosystems and riparian areas; wildlife and fisheries resources and habitat.  
There will be a Riverside Fire virtual community meeting tonight at 6pm on Fb.com/RiversideFireInfo. A recording with captioning will be posted to YouTube at https://tinyurl.com/RiversideFireInfoVideos.
 
Current evacuation information is available at clackamas.us/wildfires or by calling 503-655-8224.    Smoke info: oregonsmoke.blogspot.com. Willamette Valley Smoke outlook: wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlooks/nworegon
 
Visit TripCheck.com for numerous road closures in the area. The Mt. Hood National Forest, state forest lands in the fire area, and large portions of Bureau of Land Management lands are closed: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/closures/7174/  
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