7/26/2021 Cub Creek 2 Fire Update

The fire is burning on Okanogan County Fire District 6 and Washington Department of Natural Resources protected lands and the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.

The Cub Creek 2 Fire is estimated at 44,100 acres with 10% containment.

Overnight, the region saw poor humidity recoveries, which made the fire remain active. Crews remained vigilant with tactical patrols  and  monitoring throughout the fire area.  Hand crews worked through the night and continued with line construction and preparation that had begun during the day.

Today, it is forecasted that in Methow Valley the smoke from the Cedar Creek Fire and Cub Creek 2 Fire will shadow the region, leading to continued poor air quality. The western flank of the fire perimeter remains the top priority, as crews engage in building and strengthening control lines up and out through Sweet Grass Butte into the McLeod fire scar where limited fuels will slow its growth. Contingent on optimal conditions, a strategic firing operation is planned near FS Road 100 and 157 to minimize the narrow roads near FS Road 57. Adjacent to these roads, the fire will be tied into Buck Mountain and Division Mike. Aviation resources will be limited today, as aircraft are shared between the Cedar Creek Fire and Cub Creek 2 fire. Along the southern portion of the fire crews will reinforce containment lines and continue mop up. Along the ridgetops of Eight Mile and the McLeod burn scar, crews will continue to improve control lines and mop-up. The eastern flank remains active along FS Road 37 into Pebble Creek and firefighters have been engaged in tactical patrols to minimize any further fire spread.

Local resource advisors will continue to provide input to protect natural and historical values at risk.

Residents will continue to see smoke and smoldering or creeping fire behavior near homes, but personnel are actively monitoring those areas. Please only call 911 if flare-ups occur near structures.

Evacuation Information: The Okanogan County Emergency Management (OCEM)

evacuations for the Chewuch River drainage remain in effect. Please consult OCEM information resources at okanogancounty.org for current evacuations. Residents leaving Evacuation Level 3 areas should be extremely cautious, drive slowly, and watch for firefighters and firefighting equipment on the roadway.

7/26/2021 Bootleg Fire Update

(Klamath Falls, OR) – As firefighters successfully patrol and hold the containment line around the southern area of the Bootleg Fire, activity continues on the northern edges. Along the northwest perimeter of the fire, crews have been building indirect line utilizing forest roads from Coyote Creek, north to Round Butte. A burnout operation was conducted overnight to remove fuels ahead of the fire to stop its spread into timber stands. “The challenge today,” said Pacific Northwest Team 2 Operations Chief Kyle Cannon, “is to secure the northernmost section of the fire north of Round Butte to the west side of 27 Road.” On the northeast side, last night’s efforts focused again on the active fire along the Sycan River. Crews there are working to keep the fire off Winter Rim and from moving toward Summer Lake. Contingency line construction and structure protection continue around Summer Lake and Paisley. Incident managers are optimistic about the effectiveness of these efforts, but threats remain and evacuation levels have not yet changed. They encourage people to remain vigilant and updated on conditions. Along the southern border, crews continue to progress deeper into the burned area extinguishing hot spots. This will further secure the fire’s edge. Firefighters have made excellent progress, with 98 miles of completed fire line in this zone. As they continue to patrol, any areas of remaining heat that could pose a future threat to the containment line will be extinguished. Over the course of the fire, more than 90 fire departments from across the country have responded to the fire to serve the impacted communities. Today, an additional 120 Oregon National Guardsmen are arriving—six crews of 20—to join the firefighting force. Weather and smoke conditions are improving over the next few days. Last night’s light, favorable winds from the north facilitated night operations. Although rainfall is rare this time of year, today thunderstorms are expected to roll in and produce rain tonight and tomorrow. While there is a danger of lightning, the rainfall, higher humidity, and cooler temperatures overall will assist firefighting efforts. Air quality has also eased across the state with most monitoring stations recording good to moderate air quality. Did you miss the community meeting yesterday? You can check out the recording on the Bootleg Fire Facebook page or Twitter account for recent updates. Evacuations:   Evacuations are dynamic. An interactive map of evacuation levels in Lake and Klamath Counties is available at  tinyurl.com/bootlegevac Red Cross Evacuation Shelters: For information or assistance: 1-800-Red-Cross, (www.redcrossblog.org/disaster)   Closures:  The Fremont-Winema National Forest is closed to the public in the fire area. Map and full order available at inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7609/.    Smoke:  Weakening high pressure means that there will be less smoke on the ground today than in the past couple days. There could be times where air quality could reach the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (USG) level, but not for any extended period of time and will likely be more sporadic. Today's forecast calls for mostly moderate air quality around the region, with conditions slowly improving overnight as the atmosphere becomes a bit more unstable, meaning air and smoke will be able to rise more easily compared to the past several days. See: fires.airfire.org/outlooks/southcentraloregon.   

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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.

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