Central Oregon Fire Management Evening Update - August 15

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 15, 2017
Contact: (541) 316-7711

COIDC Evening Update, August 15

Redmond, OR – The Central Oregon Dispatch Center received two new smoke reports today, resulting in one fire that was contained at a half acre. An incident management team has arrived from the southwest to assist with the management of several of the fires in the Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests, as well as manage any new fire starts that may occur over the next several weeks due to drying conditions and increased visitation from the solar eclipse.

Dry conditions under a west to northwest flow will continue into the upcoming weekend. Breezy to local windy conditions with low relative humidity will be likely Wednesday.

Milli Fire – Located in the Three Sisters Wilderness, the Milli Fire is now 260 acres and 2% contained. There are 176 personnel assigned to the fire including six IA crews, three smaller (5-person) crews, four dozers, four masticators, and variety of overhead and support equipment. This fire is currently eight miles west of Sisters and about one and a half miles southwest of Black Crater Lake.

Winds continued to push the fire east today, coming out of the wilderness and beginning to approach areas where fire operators can conduct direct suppression strategies to contain the fire. Minimum impact suppression strategies (MIST) are still being employed by crews operating within the Three Sisters Wilderness. Due to the fire burning partially in the fire scar of the 2006 Black Crater Fire, all crews on the ground are using extreme caution in areas with dead, standing timber.

Three Sisters Wilderness closure area includes the following: The Willamette National Forest has closed all trails south of Highway 242 into the Three Sisters Wilderness on the Willamette National Forest with the exception of Proxy Falls, which remains open. Also closed is the Obsidian Trailhead and Obsidian Limited Entry Area.

The area closure also includes Deschutes National Forest managed lands within the Three Sisters Wilderness that are threatened by fire activity. The northern closure area border includes trails south of Highway 242 and west of Forest Road 1018 and east of the Three Sisters Wilderness Boundary on the Willamette National Forest down to approximately Scott’s Pass Trail, which is also included in the closure. In addition, the closure area contains trails north of Cascade Lakes Highway, west of the South Sisters Climber Trail and includes all of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) from Elk Lake north to the PCT Trailhead near Lava Camp Lake Campground. For up-to-date information on closures on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and trail reroute options, visit https://www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/trail-conditions-and-closures/.

While the closure includes all trails east of the PCT from Elk Lake to the South Sisters Climber Trail, the South Sisters Climber Trail and Elk Lake Trail remain open. Popular areas like Wickiup Plains and Sisters Mirror Lake are closed.
• Recreationists should be aware of these additional trail closures: Black Crater Trail #4058, Millican Crater Trail #4066, Scott Pass Trail #4068, North Matthieu Lake Trail #4062, Trout Creek Tie Trail #4067, Millican Crater Trailhead, Scott Pass Trailhead, A portion of the Green Lakes Trail #17 is closed from Pole Creek Trail #4072 to Scott Pass Trail #4068, Moraine Lake Trail from South Sister Climber Trail to Leconte Crater Trail, Leconte Crater Trail, Devils Lake Trail, Mirror Lakes Trail, Elk-Devils Trail, and Horse Lake Trail.
• Green Lakes Trail #17 from the Cascade Lakes Highway to the Pole Creek Trail #4072 is OPEN.

There is a temporary flight restriction (TFR) over the fire area and can be found at http://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_7_1668.html

Whychus Fire – Located about eight miles northeast of Sisters, the Whychus Fire is currently 2030 acres and 90% contained. Another day of no fire growth allowed for crews to continue mopping up. There are 65 personnel working on this fire including two engines, three crews, and three dozers.

Belknap Fire – Located in the Mill Creek Wilderness on the Ochoco National Forest, the Belknap Fire is estimated at 123 acres and 5% contained. Active fire behavior was observed today on the interior of the fire area. Aerial resources worked extensively over the past several operational periods and were able to apply a retardant line around the entire fire perimeter.

A trail closure has been put in place by the Ochoco National Forest for trails within the Mill Creek Wilderness. The following trails are now closed to the public for one month, beginning August 14th, from today or until rescinded: Twin Pillars Trail #832; Wildcat Trail #833; and Belknap Trail #833A.

There is a temporary flight restriction (TFR) in place over the fire area and can be found at http://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_7_9749.html

North Pole Fire – Located northeast of Shaniko, the North Pole Fire is burning on private land and Bureau of Land Management. Currently, the North Pole Fire is 5075 acres and 0% contained. Five engines are currently assigned to the fire.

For more information, follow us at http://centralorfireinfo.blogspot.com/ or on Twitter at @CentralORFire

For the Central Oregon Fire Information hotline, please call 541-316-7711.

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