8/13/2023 Wiley Fire Update

 WILEY CREEK FIRE

Morning Update: August 13, 2023, 8:30 a.m.

Quick Facts-

Size: 241 Acres

Location: 6 miles SE of Sweet Home

Containment: 15%

Resources: ODF Type 3 Team, hand crews, dozers, and aircraft.

Lands Affected: USFS Willamette National Forest, Private land

WILEY CREEK FIREFIGHTERS PREPARE FOR HOT, WINDY CONDITIONS

Sweet Home, Ore.— Firefighters are continuing to make solid progress on mopping up the Wiley Creek Fire’s perimeter, with resources bolstering lines overnight and completely surrounding the fire with hose for water access. The southern perimeter is now mopped in, or extinguished of hotspots, ranging from 60 – 100 feet into the fire’s perimeter, creating a strong line for firefighters to hold during Sunday’s dayshift. Following an infrared (IR) flight last night, GPS mapping has placed the fire at 241 acres, just slightly larger than previously estimated.

Today’s focus will be on the weather, as a Red Flag Warning is in effect due to critical fire conditions, issued by the National Weather Service. Temperatures are predicted to hover around 100 degrees with north and northwesterly winds reaching 5 – 10 miles per hour in the afternoon and shifting to east winds in the evening. Relative humidity is expected to drop to 20-25% during the day, and only reach 40% overnight. These weather conditions naturally increase fire behavior and activity and have been the focus of the team’s strategic planning for several days now. Firefighters have been preparing for the potential for the fire to become more active, and with the western, southern and eastern fire perimeters holding strong, it will give resources a good line to defend, should fire activity increase.

Due to this potential, the containment on the fire remains 15%. While firefighters have made excellent progress, additional work needs to be completed to increase the containment, and fire lines need to hold through the critical fire weather. Personnel assigned to the fire remain approximately 350, with 10 crews, 13 engines, 15 tree fallers, five water tenders, and numerous bulldozers and logging equipment on the fire line today. Firefighters will continue mop-up operations and be prepared for any flare-ups due to weather conditions.

Please be aware of the heightened risks for fires to start and spread due to these upcoming weather conditions, and help firefighters by following all local regulations, found here: www.oregon.gov/odf/fire/pages/restrictions. Additional wildfire prevention tips are available at www.keeporegongreen.org.

Level 1 (Be Ready) and Level 2 (Be Set) evacuations remain in place. For more information on evacuations, visit https://www.linnsheriff.org/. No campfires of any kind are allowed on the Willamette National Forest.

The closure order for Green Peter Reservoir remains in effect. Please respect all closures so that firefighters can focus on the containment of this fire.