Yesterday
Hotshots
made good progress in Murderers Creek Drainage, using aerial retardant drops and
making use of terrain features. Crews
were able to burn out along the 2150 (Aldridge Lookout)
road as the main fire approached; pulling fire to the east. Firefighters are using dozers on the north
end of the fire to build and clean firelines.
As the
fire consumed dead and down juniper slash in Oliver Creek it created a very
visible smoke column that radar showed topped out at 37,000 feet. Firefighters along the South Fork of the
John Day River are making good progress.
Oregon
National Guard joined the effort Saturday, bringing the number of Helicopters
on the South Fork Complex to seven.
Smoke continues to hamper air operations on the south end of the
fire.
Weather
& Fire Behavior
There is
an increasing risk of thunderstoms through Tuesday and a Red Flag warnings
has been announced for Sunday through Tuesday. Low afternoon relative humidity levels,
along with poor overnight humidity recovery are expected.
The fire
made short up-slope, up-canyon runs on Saturday. Firefighters observed spotting distances of
about one-eighth of a mile. Fire
behavior observed on Saturday is expected to continue through Sunday. In addition, downdrafts associated with
thunderstorm activity may increase fire behavior for portions of the
incident.
Today’s
Operations
PNW Team 3 took command of the fire this morning. They worked together with their
counterparts on Oregon Team 4 Saturday to transfer information and
|
|
|||||||||||||||
equipment.
The focus of firefighting
efforts continues to be on minimizing the fire size to the extent possible on
all jurisdictions, while providing for public and firefighter safety. Additional firefighting resources continue
to arrive.
Air
attack and hotshot crews will be focusing on establishing containment lines
on the northwest fire perimeter.
Helicopters will be dipping out of ponds on the north side of
Aldridge. Residents of Dayville may
see increased aviation activity including use of fixed wing aircraft. On the eastern perimeter, heavy equipment
and hotshot crews are tying dozer line, handline and roads together. Firefighters are mopping-up and securing
around Andy’s/Stewart’s Cabin. Crews
will look for opportunities establish a secure containment line from the South
Fork on the southeast perimeter. From
there, they intend to tie into the Big Baldy Country where direct attack will
be more effective because fire growth is checked. Along the western perimeter, crews will
continue mopping-up and securing containment lines.
Crews
will continue preparing primary and secondary containment lines on the fire
perimeter. With the support of
aviation resources, firefighters will use direct attack to hold fireline and
slow the progress of the fire until indirect firelines can be
constructed.
Given the
predicted lightning, firefighters are prepared for initial attack and
resources on the South Fork Complex will be shifted to initial attack as
needed.
Closures & Evacuations
A level 1
evacuation remains in effect for the area south of Highway 26, west of Road
21 (Fields Creek) and east of Road 42 (South Fork of the John Day
River). A level 1 evacuation is also
in place for the area south of Deer Creek and east of the South Fork of the
John Day River.
|
||||||||||||||||
Additional Information, including maps, is
available online at http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4042/
|
||||||||||||||||
Facebook: South Fork Complex
|
Sunday, August 10, 2014
South Fork Complex Update
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment