7/26/2021 Elbow Fire Update

Operations Section Chief praised crews at this morning’s Elbow Creek Fire briefing for the excellent work that has been done to date. Much of the fire is lined and crews are transitioning to heavy mop-up in most areas. 

LAST NIGHT AND TODAY: Last night, crews successfully wrapped up a burnout operation and finished tying together containment lines east of the 6212 Road in the Elbow Creek area. The area still showed increased fire activity with the fire spotting over containment lines throughout the late afternoon. However, crews were able to quickly respond and control all spot fires outside containment lines. 

Today, crews will prioritize this area and continue to focus efforts here. Weather patterns consistent with the past few days have been forecasted for today’s operational period. This is good news – minimal winds, and slightly cooler temperatures reducing potential for extreme fire activity. Relative humidity will remain quite low though, around 13 to 24 percent. 

Early in the evening yesterday, a firefighter did experience a burn injury to their hand and lower arm. The individual was transported to a La Grande hospital for evaluation and treatment and later released. To mitigate some of these potential risks, safety officers have asked all fire line personnel to implement 5 at 2, where they will take a tactical pause for 5 minutes at 2:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. to check in with their situational awareness. 

We will be hosting another virtual community update tonight at 7 p.m. A link will be provided as soon as possible. 

Big Hole Spike camp will be fully moved into Elgin by this evening.