Central Oregon Fire Update, 7/12

Central Oregon Fire Update

PRINEVILLE, Ore. – Rain and cooler temperatures quieted wildfire activity across Central Oregon yesterday and the trend is expected to continue today.

The Geneva 15 incident south of Lake Billy Chinook near the Three Rivers subdivision is now being managed by a Type 4 team that will continue mopping up containment lines and monitor the fire area. The final acreage on this fire is 875 with 90% containment. The Geneva 15 fire was reported at approximately 4:00 p.m. Friday and the cause has been determined to be lightning.

The Corner Creek Fire remains at 29,407 acres. Yesterday’s wetting rains and cooler temperatures over much of the fire area have significantly reduced fire activity and containment is now at 75%. Crews successfully completed the contingency line at the north end of the fire. Crews and other resources also continued to mop-up along containment lines, extinguishing any burning and smoldering materials. The weather service is again forecasting mostly cloudy weather today with a chance of showers and thunderstorms.

As a reminder, several closures are still in place for the Corner Creek Fire including an Ochoco National Forest area closure and the South Fork Road/Co. Rd. 42 which is closed to the general public from near Dayville to south of the US Forest Service 58 Road junction due to fire activity. To read the entire closure order and view a map of the area closure, please visit the Ochoco National Forest website at http://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/ochoco/alerts-notices 

Information about the Sugarloaf and Corner Creek Fires, managed by the Oregon Interagency Incident Management Team 2 of Forestry Team 2, can be found at http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/

 -END-

Corner Creek Fire Update, 7/12

Corner Creek Fire Update 

Sunday, July 12, 2015, 9:00 a.m. 

Fire Information: (541) 987-2348 

The Corner Creek Fire remains at 29,407 acres. Yesterday’s wetting rains and cooler temperatures over much of the fire area have significantly reduced fire activity and containment is now at 75%. Crews successfully completed the contingency line at the north end of the fire. Crews and other resources also continued to mop-up along containment lines, extinguishing any burning and smoldering materials. The weather service is again forecasting mostly cloudy weather today with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Today firefighters will concentrate on the southern and western portions of the fireline for continued mop-up and repair of all fire suppression efforts, including heavy equipment lines, hand lines, spike camps, etc. Resource advisors are working closely with Oregon IMT2 to address these impacts and are implementing suppression repair strategies. The east side of the fire remains in patrol status. Aircraft assigned to the Corner Creek Fire are also being used to help with any new initial attack firefighting efforts. Many resources have been either released or reassigned to other fires within the Pacific Northwest Region over the last two days. Although this area has had a bit of weather reprieve the past few days, fire season is earlier than normal and the fire forecast is still anticipating a long fire season. For additional Information, please visit: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4349.

Closure Information 

Road Closure: South Fork Road/County Road 42 remains closed to the general public from near Dayville to south of Forest Road 58 junction due to fire activity. Area Closure: On the North, from the Ochoco National Forest (N.F.) boundary at the North Fork of Birch Creek in Township 13S, Range 25E, Section 30, south to the Ochoco N.F. Boundary near the junction of Forest Roads 58 and 030 and all roads, trails and Forest lands east to the Ochoco N. F. Boundary (see Inciweb for detailed maps)

Central Oregon MORNING Fire Update, 7/11

Central Oregon MORNING Fire Update

PRINEVILLE, Ore. – The Geneva 15 incident south of Lake Billy Chinook near the Three Rivers subdivision grew to 880 acres this morning, due in large part to burnout operations to construct containment lines around the blaze. Containment is up to 20% this morning and firefighters will be securing fire lines with the help of two helicopters. The fire was reported at approximately 4:00 p.m. yesterday and the cause has been determined to be lightning.

The Ten Mile Canyon Fire was turned over to a Type 4 team yesterday after containment lines held and containment increased to 90% on the 6,707 acres.

The Corner Creek Fire grew to 29,407 acres within the established containment lines. The south to southwest flanks of the fire are being mopped up as firefighters continue to extinguish burning material just inside the containment lines. Crews also mopped up within the Black Canyon Wilderness along the northern fire edge. Danger from snags, fire-weakened trees and steep terrain will determine the depth of the mop-up. The eastern flank of the fire has cooled and is now in patrol status. Little precipitation fell over the fire yesterday but cloud cover and cooler temperatures moderated fire behavior and helped achieve a fire containment of 70%.

As a reminder, several closures are still in place for the Corner Creek Fire including an Ochoco National Forest area closure and the South Fork Road/Co. Rd. 42 which is closed to the general public from near Dayville to south of the US Forest Service 58 Road junction due to fire activity. To read the entire closure order and view a map of the area closure, please visit the Ochoco National Forest website at http://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/ochoco/alerts-notices 

Information about the Sugarloaf and Corner Creek Fires, managed by the Oregon Interagency Incident Management Team 2 of Forestry Team 2, can be found athttp://inciweb.nwcg.gov/

 -END-

Central Oregon EVENING Fire Update, 7/10

Central Oregon EVENING Fire Update

PRINEVILLE, Ore. – Incident #388 south of Lake Billy Chinook near the Three Rivers subdivision was reported at 4:00 p.m. and is approximately 600 acres tonight. The fire, Geneva 15, is still burning this evening, although firefighters are making good progress on a burnout operation that would prevent the fire from moving north into the subdivision. Four Type 1 helicopters, three heavy air tankers and two SEATs (Single Engine Air Tankers) were lending aerial support to the firefighters on the ground putting in containment lines. Containment is listed at 10% tonight and the cause is undetermined.

There were 16 other confirmed fires in Central Oregon today, all fires were started by lightning and were held to under 1/10 of an acre.

The Ten Mile Canyon Fire was turned over to a Type 4 team today after containment lines held and containment increased to 90% on the 6,707 acres.

The Corner Creek Fire grew to 29,407 acres within the established containment lines. The south to southwest flanks of the fire are being mopped up as firefighters continue to extinguish burning material just inside the containment lines. Crews also mopped up within the Black Canyon Wilderness along the northern fire edge. Danger from snags, fire-weakened trees and steep terrain will determine the depth of the mop-up. The eastern flank of the fire has cooled and is now in patrol status. Little precipitation fell over the fire yesterday but cloud cover and cooler temperatures moderated fire behavior and helped achieve a fire containment of 60%.

As a reminder, several closures are still in place for the Corner Creek Fire including an Ochoco National Forest area closure and the South Fork Road/Co. Rd. 42 which is closed to the general public from near Dayville to south of the US Forest Service 58 Road junction due to fire activity. To read the entire closure order and view a map of the area closure, please visit the Ochoco National Forest website at http://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/ochoco/alerts-notices 

Information about the Sugarloaf and Corner Creek Fires, managed by the Oregon Interagency Incident Management Team 2 of Forestry Team 2, can be found at http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/

 -END-

VLAT Supports firefighting efforts on 10 Mile Canyon Fire

 

Thursday afternoon, a Very Large Airtanker (called a VLAT) carrying about 12,000 gallons of retardant helped firefighters on the 10-Mile Fire keep the fire from moving to the Lower Deschutes River. These tankers are often DC-10 airplanes - the size of a large commercial airliner - and carry about four times the amount of retardant as the typical heavy airtanker. In this run, the tanker only dropped about half of his load.

Corner Creek Fire update, July 10, 9:00 am

Corner Creek Fire Update Friday,
July 10th, 2015, 9:00 a.m. Fire Information: (541) 987-2348

The Corner Creek Fire grew to 29,407 acres within the established containment lines. The south to southwest flanks of the fire are being mopped up as firefighters continue to extinguish burning material just inside the containment lines. Crews also mopped up within the Black Canyon Wilderness along the northern fire edge. Danger from snags, fire-weakened trees and steep terrain will determine the depth of the mop-up. The eastern flank of the fire has cooled and is now in patrol status. Little precipitation fell over the fire yesterday but cloud cover and cooler temperatures moderated fire behavior and helped achieve a fire containment of 60%. The weather service is forecasting mostly cloudy weather today with scattered showers and thunderstorms. Moderate to heavy rain is possible along with the potential for flash flooding from noon to 10 p.m. This continued cooler and wetter weather will limit the threat of fire spread and assist firefighters in overall containment of the fire. Today firefighters will work to complete the final segment of line on the northwest corner of the fire. They will also work to complete the contingency lines on the northern perimeter and finish mop-up along the fire’s southern to southwest perimeters. The eastern flank is in patrol status. The fire is burning on public lands managed by the Ochoco National Forest and the Bureau of Land Management – Prineville District, with some private lands within or near to the burned area. A lightning strike on June 29 started the fire in the Black Canyon Wilderness. The north end of the fire continues to burn in inaccessible, rugged terrain within the Black Canyon Wilderness. Crews building containment lines in this area are using light-on-the-land suppression tactics. They remain camped in a remote “spike” camp to the west of the wilderness to reduce exposure from travel and increase their overall productivity. Aircraft assigned to the Corner Creek Fire are also being used to help with any new initial attack firefighting efforts and on the West Fork Fire, located 10 miles southeast of Dayville on the Malheur National Forest. For additional Information, please visit: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4349 and http://centralorfireinfo.blogspot.com/

Closure Information 

Road Closure: South Fork Road/County Road 42 remains closed to the general public from near Dayville to south of Forest Road 58 junction due to fire activity. Area Closure: On the North, from the Ochoco National Forest (N.F.) boundary at the North Fork of Birch Creek in Township 13S, Range 25E, Section 30, south to the Ochoco N.F. Boundary near the junction of Forest Roads 58 and 030 (including Sugar Creek Campground), and all roads, trails and Forest lands east to the Ochoco Naitonal Forest Boundary (see Inciweb map). See closure details at: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/maps/4349/10/.

VLAT Drop on the Ten Mile Canyon Fire

A VLAT (Very Large Air Tanker) dropping retardant on the Ten Mile Canyon Fire, July 9, 2015