Sunday, July 5, 2015

7/4/15 Corner Creek/Sugarloaf Evening Update

This is the Corner Creek/Sugarloaf Update from last night - an overnight infrared map of the fire shows the acreage is  now 27,395.
                         
Oregon Department of Forestry
Incident Management Team 1
John Buckman, Incident Commander
An unexpected southerly wind this afternoon on the Corner Creek Fire pushed the blaze against firelines being built along its north and west flanks, prompting swift action from helicopters and air tankers. Cooling water and retardant dropped from the aircraft helped firefighters to keep fire growth to a minimum.
The forecast for earlier today had called for light westerly winds, coupled with temperatures near to 100 degrees, and single-digit humidity. But as firefighters have learned, winds in the South Fork John Day River canyon don’t always behave as predicted.
The 22,000-acre blaze, burning primarily on the Ochoco National Forest 11 miles south of Dayville, has consistently made unexpected moves. Today, however, firefighters kept the fire’s growth to a minimum and made significant progress toward constructing firelines along the south and west flanks. The fireline along the east flank, where the fire has burned to the river’s edge in a 4-mile stretch between Rockpile Ranch and Black Canyon Creek, held with little difficulty despite the unexpected wind from the south.
Crews tonight will continue the day shift’s efforts by furthering fireline construction, burning out some unburned areas inside the fireline, and continuously monitoring the perimeter for spotfires and breaches.
The total number of people assigned to the Corner Creek Fire is 779. The fire is 10 percent contained.
The fire suppression effort is being led by the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Incident Management Team 1, which was delegated to contain the Corner Creek Fire by the Ochoco National Forest and the Bureau of Land Management.
 
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