CENTRAL OREGON
FIRE INFORMATION CENTER
6/10/14 8:00 pm Evening Update
www.centralorfireinfo.blogspot.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Information Phone: 541-550-4888 or 541-389-6421
Note: This Central Oregon Joint Information Center Fire Update will continue through the 9:00 am update Thursday, June 12. After that, the daily fire updates will come only from the Incident Management Team on the Two Bulls Fire. The Blog, Facebook Page and Twitter accounts will be maintained for the duration of the fire or until the team or other cooperators choose to stop posting. The public phone lines in the JIC, will not be staffed after noon on Thursday and all calls will be referred to the Incident Command Post at 541-389-6421.
Current Fire Information
• 6,906 acres of heavy brush and timber
• Despite strong afternoon winds, the firelines held
• 40% containment
• No structures lost or damaged
• 2 firefighters have received minor injuries – a cut on the leg and a reaction to a bee sting
• The cause of the fire is under investigation
• 6 helicopters, 77 engines, 11 dozers, and 1018 personnel assigned to the fire
• Estimated costs to date: $3 million
Fire Investigation
Taylor NW has contributed $2,500 to the reward bringing the total of the reward to $4,500
A joint investigation to locate the origin and cause of the fires is being conducted by a team of investigators from the Oregon State Police, U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement, Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, Walker Range Fire Protection Association, and Oregon Department of Forestry. Investigators located the origin of both fires, collected evidence, and have determined that the fires were human caused.
The investigation team is interested in any information members of the public can provide. Please call with any information about activity, individuals, or vehicles seen on Cascade Timberlands in the days leading up to the fire.
Cascade Timberlands originally added $2,000 for information that leads to a successful conviction. Anyone with information that could help identify the suspects is asked to contact the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 1-877-876-TIPS. You can remain anonymous, and you could be eligible for a cash reward.
Evacuation Information
After meeting with Two Bulls Fire Officials this evening, the Sheriff’s Office lowered the Skyliners Road Evacuation Notice to Level II effective tonight, June 10th, at 8:00 p.m. The Sheriff’s Office WILL ONLY ALLOW RESIDENTS IN THIS AREA.
Residents returning to their homes should be aware of any additional fire activity. Residents should be cautious if they return home as there is only one main exit out of the Skyliners Road residential area.
There are no Level III Evacuation Notices in effect. Level I Evacuation Notices are in effect for:
- The Saddleback Subdivision area to include some evacuated homes on Johnson Road, Tyler Road and Kuhlman Road.
- The area located south of Shevlin Park Road, west of Mt. Washington Drive, and north of Century Drive.
- The remainder of Northwest Crossing (east of Mt. Washington Drive), and the area that includes residents north of Shevlin Park and west of Mt. Washington Drive.
Deschutes County I. T. has produced a link to a map that shows the current Evacuation Notice Levels, Interactive Map: https://maps.deschutes.org/custom/simple/index.html (This map will be updated with any change in Evacuation Notice Levels). For current evacuation updates, please contact the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office information line at 541-550-4850.
Sheriff’s Office units are patrolling the areas affected by the Evacuation Notices. There will be additional Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement patrols working this week and through the weekend. The Multi-Agency Investigation Team wants any information citizens can provide. Please call with any information about activity, individuals, or vehicles seen on Cascade Timberlands property in the days leading up to the fire.
Taylor Northwest contributed $2500 to the existing reward, making the reward total $4500 to anyone with information that leads to a successful conviction. Anyone with information that could help identify the suspects is asked to contact the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 1-877-876-8477 (TIPS).
If Citizens see suspicious activity or something that doesn’t look right, we encourage them to report it to Deschutes County 9-1-1.
School Closures
At 1:45 PM this afternoon, the Two Bulls Fire incident commander confirmed with Bend-La Pine Schools that the evacuation orders have been revised to Level One for the areas around William E. Miller Elementary, Cascade Middle and Summit High schools. These schools will reopen on Wednesday, June 11. All other District schools will be open as scheduled. Cascade Middle and Summit High school students are encouraged to check their school websites for information about finals, final projects, and materials return.
Superintendent Ron Wilkinson said Bend-La Pine Schools is fortunate to have one of the longest student-contact school years in Oregon, so the loss of recent school days will not result in an extension of the school year. “We believe that we have already met the state minimum guidelines for instructional hours this year, so we will not be adding make-up days,” said Wilkinson. He added, “On behalf of our staff, students and families, I want to thank the hundreds of firefighters and emergency responders who are working hard to contain the Two Bulls Fire – thank you.”
Fire Danger
We are experiencing fuel moistures and conditions that we normally don’t have until July. This has raised the potential for extreme fire behavior in our area. A good way to thank the fire fighters fighting the Two Bulls Fire is to help prevent the next fire.
The days and weeks after school releases, the Bend Fire Department sees an immediate rise in fires caused by juveniles. Whether it’s a young child who is curious about fire or a teenager imitating something seen online, these behaviors are risky and may be deadly. Children and teens do not understand the power of fire and can quickly find themselves in a dangerous situation. Parents and caregivers should NEVER dismiss misuse of fire as “simple curiosity” or “kids being kids”. This type of behavior will likely continue and tends to escalate to larger and more serious fires. As a parent, YOU can be held financially responsible for any property damage or injuries caused by your child’s actions. For more information, look for Youth Fire Prevention and Intervention at www.bendoregon.gov/fire.
USFS Closures
The Deschutes National Forest has instituted an area closure as a result of the Two Bulls Fire west of Bend. The area encompasses Forest Roads 4601 West of Tumalo Creek, 4606, 1612, 590, 480, 113, 110, 377, 900, 1620, 1628 and 370 North of Todd Lake. This area closure is bordered on the south by Cascade Lakes Highway, which remains open at this time.
This closure includes all roads and trails within the area including the popular Phil's Trailhead system and much of the West Bend project area that's part of the Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project.
The following county road closures remain in place: Tumalo Reservoir Road is closed to westbound traffic at Rock Springs Road, Bull Springs Road is closed to westbound traffic at Johnson Road, Skyliners Road is closed to westbound traffic at FS 4604 (Phil’s Trailhead).
Donations
The Two Bulls Fire incident has been asked by Bend residents and surrounding communities what donations can be offered to the firefighters. On behalf of the firefighters, the teams managing the fire and Deschutes National Forest, we want to thank the public for their generosity. At this point, all of the needs of the firefighters are being met. If you would like to make a monetary donation, we encourage you to consider the local Red Cross Chapter www.redcross.org/or/bend/ways-to-donate or 541-382-2142, or the Wildland Firefighter Foundation at www.wffoundation.org, which contributes to injured or fallen firefighters and their families. Helping the foundation, helps the firefighter community.
Red Cross Information
All Red Cross shelters associated with the Two Bulls Fire are closed. The Oregon Mountain River Chapter of the American Red Cross is accepting monetary donations for disaster relief and encourages individuals to take advantage of free disaster preparedness training. For more information on Red Cross services and find out how to donate, visitwww.redcross.org/bendhttp://www.redcross.org/bend.” Displaced residents in need of a place to stay or other resources are encouraged to contact the American Red Cross by calling 541-382-2142.
Air Quality Information
AIR QUALITY IS GOOD!
Smoke Management Forecast Information
The “Two Bulls Fire,” about 10 miles NW of Bend, appears to be producing very little smoke. DEQ air quality sensors are near baseline levels across central Oregon. Some light smoke will likely continue to stream into Bend, Oregon, which is directly downstream of the wildfire, but significant wildfire smoke is unlikely, unless the fire becomes more active later today.
Onshore flow will weaken on Wednesday, as a flat and transitory upper-level ridge moves across the state. Skies will remain generally sunny, except for patchy morning clouds along the coast and NW interior. Lighter NW transport winds across the NW zones will veer to more northerly across the SW zones. Expect light and variable winds east of the Cascade crest. Temperatures should warm to about 5 degrees above average with good daytime mixing.
Animal Care
The livestock shelter at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds in Redmond, OR is now closed
Local events
The Sister’s Rodeo will not be affected by the fire. The rodeo is still planned to start Wednesday
Upcoming Community Event on Wildfire
Deschutes County, City of Bend Fire Department and the Deschutes National Forest invite Central Oregon residents to a panel discussion and film on wildfire in our community in mid-June. The goal is to help people understand more about Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) wildfires, wildfire risks to our community and reducing those risks to their personal property.
“The Fire Line: Wildfire in Colorado”, will be showing on Thursday, June 19 at 7 pm at Hitchcock auditorium, Pioneer Building 201 on the Central Oregon Community College (COCC) Campus at 2600 NW College Way in Bend. Following the 30 minute film will be a short evaluation of the film by local law enforcement, county officials, structural and wildland firefighters on living and working in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) boundary between public land and local communities. Panelists include Ed Keith, Deschutes County Forester, Bob Madden, Battalion Chief with the Bend Fire Department, Nathan Garibay, Sergeant with Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, George Ponte, District Forester, Oregon Department of Forestry and Craig Letz, Fire Staff Officer for Central Oregon Fire Management Service. There will be a question and answer period following the panels’ statements. Residents are encouraged to ask questions of the panel of fire prevention and firefighting experts. Gary Marshall, former Bend Fire Marshal and current Fire Safety Manager at Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire, will emcee the event.
“The Fire Line”, is a documentary produced by The Denver Post that examines the effects of catastrophic wildfires in the west and their impacts on community members, firefighters, and natural resources. While the focus of the film is on wildfires in Colorado, there are many lessons that Central Oregon communities can derive from their losses. The film discusses the challenges that homeowners face while living in a fire prone environment and how homeowners can better mitigate the risks to personal property, local firefighters and the beautiful Central Oregon landscape.
Media
PLEASE CALL ONLY 541-389-6421 FOR FIRE UPDATES. Interested media should report to the Incident Command Post located in the field across from 63685 Johnson Road. Public Information Officers will be available for interviews; media is required to check in with Information immediately upon arrival. Media personnel that would like a guided tour of the fire need to arrive with full Nomex, hard hat, and fire shelter; the fire camp does not have enough equipment to accommodate those that do not have this. A media update will be given at 10:00 followed by a media fire tour at 1:00 pm.
Sites for Fire Information
Information Phone at Joint Information Center: 541-550-4888 (No media please)
Note: This is interagency information for the public related to the fire. Open 9-9.
This number will no longer be in service after 12:00 noon, Thursday June 12.
Information Phone at the fire ICP: 541-389-6421
Note: This phone is operational for public and media now. As of Thursday at noon, this will be the only public & media information phone line.
Sheriff’s Emergency Information phone :541-550-4850
Note: This is a recorded line
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/TwoBullsFire, facebook.com/Deschutes.County,
TWITTER: @twobullsfire, @desnatlforest, @deschutescounty, @OchocoNatForest, @CentralORFire, #twobullsfire
INCIWEB: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/3889/
BLOG: www.CentralORfireinfo.blogspot.com
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