Bridge 99 Complex Fire Update, 7/27

Sisters OR – Mop-up of the Bridge 99 Fire has been completed (extinguishing all burning and smoldering material in the vicinity of the fire perimeter).  Repair of wildfire suppression activities on the Bridge 99 Fire is underway and progress was made yesterday on the southeastern side of the fire.  Typical repair work includes installation of water bars and covering of exposed soil in fire lines with slash to reduce potential erosion.  Isolated smokes remain within the interior of the fire.

 A few smokes were reported yesterday afternoon in the lava flow in the portion of the Bear Butte 2 Fire located within the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness.  Vegetation is being removed along roads and former dozer lines to facilitate use as contingency fire lines in the event the Bear Butte 2 Fire expands to the south and emerges outside of the Wilderness. 

Temperatures are continuing to increase and the relative humidity (the amount of moisture in the air) is dropping below 20%.  Burning conditions are quickly returning to what they were one week ago.  This drying trend could potentially result in very active fire behavior.  Starting this evening there is a slight chance of isolated thunderstorms throughout the week.

Firefighters have been very successful in meeting fire suppression objectives while safely fighting fire on the Bridge 99 Complex Fire.  With over 50,000 person-hours worked on the fire to-date there has been only one reportable minor injury.

The Oregon Interagency Management Team (IMT) 2 will transition to a local Type III IMT, Incident Commander Willie Branson.  The transfer of command will occur tomorrow at 6 am.

Open fires, including charcoal fires, are prohibited on National Forest or BLM lands, except in certain designated campgrounds (for a list and more information visit: http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/centraloregon/home/?cid=fsbdev3_035880).  These restrictions DO NOT apply to Wilderness areas on the Deschutes National Forest.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department evacuation orders are as follows:

All private lands along the Metolius River from Allen Springs Campground to Lake Billy Chinook (including the Metolius Arm) are at Evacuation Level 1.  The Cove Palisades State Park remains open.

Forest Service Closures:

Monty Campground and Perry South Campground are open to the public.  The Pacific Crest Trail is now open south of Mt Jefferson.

The following Forest Service roads, trails, campgrounds and lands remain closed:

Forest Road 12, from its intersection with Forest Roads 1270/1298 to Bridge 99, Forest Road 14, from Bridge 99 to its intersection with Forest Road 1400400 (near the 900 Road), Forest Road 1140, from its intersection with Forest Roads 1150/1180 to the intersection with Forest Road 1152, Forest Road 1154, from its intersection with Forest Road 1150 to the intersection with Forest Road 1140, and Forest Road 1420400 (near intersection of the 14 and 900 roads northeast of Camp Sherman).  The Lower Bridge, Pioneer Ford, Allen Springs, Canyon Creek, and Candle Creek Campgrounds are closed. The Jefferson Lake Trail (#4001), Sugarpine Ridge Trail (#4002), Shirley Lake Trail (#4003.1), and the Cabot Lake Trail (#4003) are closed within the Mt Jefferson Wilderness.  An area closure has been designated on a map that is available on the Inciweb website listed below.  The Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery remains closed to the public.

 The above closures and evacuation levels will continually be assessed to determine if they remain appropriate to protect public health and safety.

 For detailed information on the fire including maps, area, road, and trail closure information, along with photos, please visit: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/3963/.

 The Bridge 99 Complex consists of two fires (the Bridge 99 Fire and the Bear Butte 2 Fire). The Bridge 99 Fire is burning 18 miles northwest of the city of Sisters on Green Ridge, next to the Metolius River. The southern portion of the Bear Butte 2 Fire is burning in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness on the Deschutes National Forest. The northern portion of the Bear Butte 2 Fire is on the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs lands and is being managed by the Fire Team working on the Logging Unit Complex.