Corner Creek Fire Update, 7/7 12:30 pm

July 7, 2015                       12:30 p.m.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                      
CENTRAL OREGON NEWS MEDIA                                                                                          

                                                                                                                                                        

Oregon Department of Forestry                                                                                                       

Incident Management Team 1                                                                                                          

John Buckman, Incident Commander                                                                                              

                                                                                                                                                        

Fire Information: (541) 987-2348                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                                                        

The Corner Creek Fire grew slightly to 27,166 acres on Monday due to fire line relocation and burnout operations along the fire’s western flank. Despite some gusty winds to 30 mph late Monday afternoon, the Corner Creek Fire stayed within containment lines.

The fire is 15 percent contained and 1,100 people are assigned to the suppression effort. The majority of the work today is focused on securing the fire’s perimeter and mopping up hot spots inside the fire line.

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. The fire started June 29 from a lightning strike in the Black Canyon Wilderness.

Tomorrow at 6:00 a.m., a new incident management team will take control of the Corner Creek Fire. The fire has been managed since July 2 by the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Incident Management Team 1, led by Incident Commander John Buckman. The incoming team is the Oregon Interagency Incident Management Team 2, headed by Incident Commander Brett Fillis.

ODF’s incident management team originally had suppression responsibility for the Sugarloaf Fire, located 8 miles north of Dayville, before the team was also assigned suppression responsibility for the Corner Creek Fire. Now that the Sugarloaf Fire is 98 percent contained, and the southern three-fourths of the Corner Creek Fire, which is near some private lands, has been significantly stabilized, ODF’s incident management team is being released to be available for new fire suppression assignments.

Oregon Interagency Incident Management Team 2 will continue to work with administrators from the Ochoco National Forest, the Bureau of Land Management – Prineville District, and the Oregon Department of Forestry on a full-suppression strategy for the Corner Creek Fire, which includes fire suppression operations in the Black Canyon Wilderness.

A few of the helicopters assigned to the Corner Creek Fire were used yesterday to help cool down the West Fork Fire, located 10 miles southeast of Dayville, on the Malheur National Forest.

Information about the Corner Creek Fire is posted online at www.centralorfireinfo.blogspot.com.

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