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The Falls Fire started on July 10, 2024, and is located 25 miles northwest of Burns, Oregon, on the Emigrant Creek Ranger District of the Malheur National Forest. The Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Oregon Department of Forestry are working in partnership with fire managers. A full-suppression strategy is being used for the fire, while insuring to minimize risks to responders and the public. The fire was human-caused and remains under investigation.
Initial attack resources attempted direct tactics early on but were challenged by the terrain and accessibility to the eastern side of the fire. Full suppression efforts are being implemented utilizing a combination of direct, indirect, and point protection where the highest probability of success can be safely achieved. Firefighters continue to establish firelines and hose lays, working in conjunction with aerial resources.
The Malheur National Forest has a closure order in place. To protect public health and safety, fire managers have closed the area around the fire due to fire activity and fire suppression operations. Campground closures include Emigrant Creek Campground, Falls Campground, Yellowjacket Campground, and Delintment Lake Campground. Please see the 'Closures' tab for road closures and a detailed map.
For information on the Malheur National Forest, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/malheur.
| Current as of | Mon, 07/15/2024 - 20:05 |
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| Incident Time Zone | America/Los_Angeles |
| Incident Type | Wildfire |
| Cause | Human |
| Date of Origin | |
| Location | 20 miles NW of Burns |
| Incident Commander | Incident Commander: Kevin Stock - NWIMT8 |
| Coordinates |
43° 51' 11'' Latitude
-119° 25' 36
'' Longitude
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| Total Personnel: | 646 |
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| Size | 64,225 Acres |
| Percent of Perimeter Contained | 0% |
| Estimated Containment Date | 07/30/2024 |
| Fuels Involved | Timber (Grass and Understory) Tall Grass (2.5 feet) Timber Fuels are at low fuel moisture values, with 1000 hour fuels at or below 10%, and 100 hour fuels below 7%. Fine dead fuel moisture (FDFM) is between 2 and 5 (shaded) percent. Live fuels are moving down below 100%, so are available for combustion. Eastern side of the fire is moving into the Bear Canyon fire scar, dominated by GS1 and GS2 fuels. Timbered areas are represented by TU2 and TL8. Some areas of the fire scar still have intact timber stringers, adding the spotting issue. |
| Significant Events | Extreme Wind Driven Runs Running Spotting Fire is spreading by backing, flanking, short uphill and wind driven runs, where wind/slope/fuels align. Fire is moving in an easterly direction, with the westerly winds. Spotting is short range in grass/brush fuels, and longer range in timber (1/4 to 1/2 mile), where torching is able to loft embers higher. Some spread of fire is on the flanks, with the lower ROS/FL. Fire environment is very conductive to large fire growth with steady winds, high gusts, very hot and dry. |
| Planned Actions |
Continue to hold and improve control lines on the south and west flanks. Point protection of private residences, and infrastructure. Scout fire to implement tactics to reduce threats to values at risk. |
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| Projected Incident Activity |
12 hours: Fire will remain active into the evening, with winds calming by midnight. Fire spread should slow with the calmer winds, lower temps, (35-60 percent). SW winds likely to move fire in more NE direction. Spotting likely with single and group torching. Surface fuels are consuming fairly well. 24 hours: Monday, fire remains active. Low RH, low fuel moisture and possible gusty winds will increase ROS/FL elevated. Some single and group torching likely, with spotting up to 1/4 mile. Temps begin to drop a bit as with some cloud cover and westerly winds. Potential for growth eastward, if spots occur over the Silvies River. 48 hours: Conditions on Tuesday similar to Monday. Temps are down a bit more. Fire will continue to spread easterly, but west winds are less than previous days. Atmosphere stabilizes a bit as well. Still and active fire. 72 hours: Wednesday, temps are hot (near 90), with low RH. Fire potential spread still possible with wind/slope alignment as fuels are still dry. Fire has potential to move in easterly directions, wind dependent. Anticipated after 72 hours: Similar conditions as Wednesday, for the next few days. Low temps. should be dropping into the 50s, so possible moderate RH recovery at night. Fire still very active during the day. |
| Remarks |
OSFM Blue Team inbriefed tonight and will be in Unified Command with NWT 8 at 0600 7/15/24. |
| Weather Concerns | Light showers moved through the area this afternoon bringing gusty winds up to 35mph. High temperatures of 87-91degree F were observed with minimum humidity of 15%. Shoers decreased through the evening though winds stayed elevated with southwesterly gusts up to 15mph. Overnight, temperatures will be 55-65 degrees F with relative humidity around 50%. Winds will be light from the northwest. 7/15 - Clearer skies with direr conditions due to increasing high pressure. Around a 10% chance for shoers but will generally stay south of the fire. Winds from the west-southwest of 6-12 mph with gusts up to 20mph in the afternoon. Highs near 90degrees F, with humidity around 15-20%. |
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