Central Oregon Fire Management Evening Update, August 16

COIDC Evening Update, August 16

Redmond, OR – 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, including the Milli Fire which was extremely active today.

There was one new initial attack fire today that was contained at a tenth of an acre and was located two miles northeast of Cappy Mountain.

The Deschutes National Forest and the Type 1 Incident Management Team managing the Milli Fire will be conducting a public meeting to inform the public on the current status of the Milli Fire, strategies for managing the fire, and the resources at risk. The public meeting will be held tomorrow in Sisters from 6-7 p.m. at the Sisters Middle School, 15200 OR-242.

Milli Fire – Located in the Three Sisters Wilderness. This fire is currently eight miles west of Sisters and about one and a half miles southwest of Black Crater Lake. 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. Because of increased fire behavior this afternoon, we are unable to report on size and containment at this time.

There was heavy fire activity today with winds up to 35 mph in the fire area. The fire moved by torching and spotting toward the east and southeast. Due to the dangerous conditions caused by the winds, crews were forced to cease suppression actions directly in front of the fire front and move to flanking positions. Some spot fires have crossed to the east side of Forest Road 1018. The fire also grew on the west flank and moved north toward Black Crater Mountain.

Tonight crews will work to control the spot fires that are east of Forest Road 1018 and will also conduct burnout operations to strengthen and hold the containment line being developed along that roadway.

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.

Belknap Fire – Located in the Mill Creek Wilderness on the Ochoco National Forest, the Belknap Fire is estimated at 125 acres and 30% contained. Crews expect to hold the fire lines in place with minimal fire movement.

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, has been fully contained at 5075 acres.

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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