Central Oregon Fire Update, 8/16

Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center

4550 SW Airport Way

Prineville, OR  97754

Contact:  Media Desk:  541-416-6811          

 NEW! NEW! NEW!!! Email:   Centralorfireinfo@gmail.com

Twitter:  @CentralORfire                               

For more information visit: CentralORfireinfo.blogspot.com

FIRE NEWS--Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center

For Immediate Release:  August 16, 2014 9:00 a.m.

Central Oregon Fire Update

Central Oregon – Few reports have come in for new fire starts over the last 24 hours.   Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center and associated resources still remain at 100% initial attack capability due to a continued risk of wildfire in the area.  Resources are actively patrolling for holdovers, as fuels dry, after the rain earlier in the week.

Although the fire danger has decreased this week, public use restrictions as well as an Industrial Fire Precaution Level III (IFPL III) are still in place.  Public use restrictions are measures put in place to reduce the risk of wildfire when fire danger is extreme.   Currently open fires, including charcoal fires, are prohibited except in designated campgrounds.  The IFPL III applies to the Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests, Crooked River National Grassland, and the BLM Prineville District and means that personal and commercial woodcutters are prohibited from operating power saws.  For details on these specific restrictions, please contact the Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center at 541-416-6811. 

For maps and information on the recent changes to the closure associated with the Muskrat Fire and the Bridge 99 Complex, visit the Deschutes National Forest webpage at http://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/deschutes/alerts-notices or call the Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center.  Hand crews and wildland fire modules continue to hold containment lines, mop up, and begin rehab within the Three Sisters Wilderness. 

The South Fork Complex is located 5 miles south of Dayville around the south fork of the John Day River.  The fire is burning in a mix of private, BLM, U.S. Forest Service, and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife managed lands. Currently, the South Fork Complex is 60% contained with an estimated containment date of September 1, 2014.  There are continued closures in place due to fire activity.  The fire information number for this incident is 866-347-0636 or find the most recent closures and announcements at http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4042/. 

-END-