Big Windy Wildfire

2100 Hours PST

Big Windy Complex: 6,151 acres total

-Jenny Fire: 1,728 acres

-Calvert Peak Fire: 130 acres

-Big Windy Fire: 4,289 acres

Containment: 0%

Personnel: 1,074

Highlights for the Big Windy Complex:

-The fires were less active than expected today, with moderate activity throughout the fire area.

-Firefighters are making excellent progress with containment efforts and will begin burnout operations tomorrow evening.

-Eight 20-person hand crews, four hotshot crews and 20 engines will be arriving soon to assist with containment and burnout operations. Many of the arriving resources are being reassigned from the Brimstone Fire.

-A secondary contingency line that was used for the Blossom Fire (2005) will be utilized for the north side contingency line on the Big Windy Complex.

Big Windy Complex Operations Summary:

Ground Operations: Firefighters are making excellent progress with containment lines around the Big Windy Complex. As progress is made, heavy equipment is being moved from the Big Windy Fire up to the Jenny Fire.

Visibility was better for air operations today; air attack flew an early reconnaissance flight over the fire area. A Type 1 (heavy) helicopter was loaned to the Labrador Fire today.

FIRE FACTS:

Closures in Place:

-The Bear Camp Road is officially closed with closure orders and maps issued by the Medford District of the Bureau of Land Management/Grants Pass Interagency Office and the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest/Gold Beach Ranger District. See websites above for additional information. The Josephine County Sheriff’s Office and the Curry County Sheriff’s Office are providing staffing at the closure points and signs are in place.

-Rogue River Trail from Grave Creek to Rogue River Ranch.

-The BLM portion of the Wild Section of the Rogue River is closed from Grave Creek to Mule Creek due to extreme fire conditions and public health and safety issues.

Big Windy Complex: Consists of the Big Windy (Josephine County), Calvert Peak and Jenny Fires (Curry County). Located on Medford District Bureau of Land Management lands protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry Started: July 26, 2013 at 3:00 a.m. Cause: Lightning Location: Approximately 8 miles NW of Galice.

VALUES AT RISK: Boaters and campers on the Rogue River, Wild and Scenic River below Grave Creek, economic considerations associated with recreation, Black Bar Lodge (18 structures), Zane Grey Historical Cabin, Marial Lodge, Rogue River Ranch, cultural resources, threatened & endangered species habitat, late successional reserves, fisheries and wildlife.

WEATHER: Sunday morning looks to have an inversion in the area up to 5200 ft until approximately 2:00 p.m. Tomorrow, temperatures will be hot with a slight chance of thunderstorms.

FIRE BEHAVIOR: Today’s behavior showed surface fire with intermittent group tree torching and short range spotting. Despite the changed weather conditions, the fire was not as active as yesterday.

RESOURCES ASSIGNED: 5 Type 1 hotshot crews, 17 Type 2 hand crews, 1 heavy helicopter, 2 light helicopters, 12 engines, 9 dozers and 10 water tenders, 2 cam3 crews and 123 National Guard members.

SAFETY CONCERNS: Steep and unforgiving terrain, mixing of fire and public traffic (particularly on one-lane roads), variable and unpredictable winds in the river corridor, ticks, bee stings, hazard trees, poison oak, poor air quality, aviation operations, extreme fire behavior, railroad crossings, black bears and cougars.

COOPERATING AGENCIES & PARTNERS: Oregon Department of Forestry, Medford District Bureau of Land Management, Josephine County, Curry County, Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, Jackson County, Rural Metro Fire Department.

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Green Ridge Wildfire

 2145 Hours

NorCal Team 1 assumed management of the Cascade Division complex of lightning fires at 6:00am today. The only large fire is Green Ridge at 150 acres and 25% contained. We are having technical difficulties posting to Inciweb right now. Follow us on Facebook for more information: Nor Cal Interagency Incident Management Team 1.

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No time recorded

More accurate mapping has changed the size of the Brimstone Fire to 2,218 acres. The fire is 25 percent contained, and 703 people are assigned to the fire suppression effort.

Nearly $5 million has been spent on fire suppression to this point.

Hog Creek Rd and Quartz Creek Rd remain closed to everyone except residents of those areas and firefighters.

Tall snags in the northwest corner of the fire are a concern, primarily for firefighter safety but also because burning snags broadcast embers on the wind. They are being felled if they are safely accessible, but some of them are in very steep areas (nearly vertical) and are being monitored.

There were some spotfires late Thursday that occurred along the west and southeast flanks of the fire. The spotfires were caused by embers that drifted across the primary fireline, but the spotfires were contained before they neared the secondary fireline.

There is a secondary fireline in place that acts as a backup for the primary fireline. The secondary fireline doesn’t completely encircle the fire, but has been in place for several days to double-wrap the fire on the northwest, west, south and southeast flanks.

Today, 15 20-person crews are on the fireline to continue strengthening the fireline and burn out unburned vegetation inside the fireline when necessary. The crews are supported by 13 fire engines, ten water tenders and four bulldozers. Up to eight helicopters are available for use should the firefighters need them for water drops, reconnaissance or other assistance.

Basic Information

Incident Type Wildfire
Cause Lightning
Date of Origin Monday July 29th, 2013 approx. 02:00 AM
Location 7 miles northwest of Merlin, OR
Incident Commander Chris Cline

Current Situation

Total Personnel 706
Size 2,298 acres
Percent Contained 40%
Fuels Involved Mixed conifer and hardwood trees of widely varied ages, snags (dead, standing trees), brush and logging slash.
Fire Behavior Moderate fire behavior with torching and short-range spotting. The inversion layer has been holding the fire down and there has been little increase in the fire’s size.
Significant Events The Oregon National Guard is assisting with three road closures and security. The closed roads are Hog Creek, Quartz Creek and Angora Creek.

Outlook

Planned Actions The primary fireline is complete and crews on day and night shifts continue to widen and straighten the line. Burnout operations in the east and northwest portions of the fire were successfully completed.
Growth Potential High
Terrain Difficulty High
Remarks The cost of suppressing the Brimstone Fire is estimated at $5 million. The figures includes the suppression costs of three smaller, nearby fires also caused by the July 29 thunderstorm.

Current Weather

Wind Conditions 6 mph N
Temperature 80 degrees
Humidity 25%

Source: inciweb.org

 

2013 The NW Fire Blog