Single Publication

River Complex Fire Update
Wednesday, August 25, 2021

Etna, CA — The containment on the River Complex has increased to 19%.  Overnight growth was minimal at 939 acres, due to cooler temperatures and high humidity.  Today, a persistent weather pattern continues across the fire area. Diminishing smoke is expected to occur in the later morning and early afternoon, especially on the upper elevations. Overall fire activity will increase as the smoke clears, but Air Operations will benefit from the increased visibility. With the Cronan fire remaining in the control lines, resources will be reassigned to other River Complex fires.  On the Haypress fire, The Parker Meadow spot fire to the southeast is a high priority and is being attacked by both ground and aerial assets.  The Summer fire is seeing minimal growth, with the activity primarily in the 2006 Bakes Oven fire scar. 

Weather:  Cool and dry weather is expected Wednesday across the River Complex. Smoke will remain across the area throughout the morning. It is expected that the smoke inversion will lift, and the transport winds will push the smoke off to the northeast.  The areas that clear of smoke will allow more favorable conditions and visibility for Air Operations.  The smoke clearing will result in elevated fire weather conditions across the area.

Today:       

• Place resources and construct direct fire line on the spot fire in the Parker Meadow to mitigate threat to the Hwy-3 and Trinity Center areas.
• Scout, perform structure triage assessments, and build contingency lines on private timber stands in the Trinity Center, and Hwy-3 corridor.
• Continued assessment of fires and fire locations. 
• Point Protection in the communities of Coffee Creek, Summerville, and Cecilville.   
• Road preparation, line improvement, mop-up, and holding actions where possible on all fires.
• Conduct firing operations where feasible to strengthen containment lines by removing available fuels. 

Fire Behavior:

Haypress:  The fire continues to show moderate fire growth as the crews work to increase containment. The fire continues to hold along the east fork of the Salmon River from the Caribou Road to Hazel Gulch. Yesterday, crews utilized an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) drone to conduct a firing operation between I Am Up Ridge and Dog Pow Gulch. This firing operation will be conducted to help the main fire continue to back down the hill in a controlled manner.  This firing operation will continue today on the east flank to the planned line below Fish Lake. Additional growth is expected on the east side of the fire along the Coffee Creek Road near the Three Sisters Gulch. As the fire is established in the Hickory Creek and is currently backing down towards Battle Creek. Patrols continue to occur along the Upper Coffee Creek Road to monitor any heat found around the structures.

Summer Fire:  The fire is holding along control lines and natural features. Today, growth will be limited to the southwest flank which is burning down towards the north fork of the Trinity River. This portion is burning in the 2006 Baked Oven fire within the Trinity Alps Wilderness.  

Cronan Fire:  The Cronan fire continues to remain within the control lines. Crews work to mop-up the areas identified close to the perimeter. Several large, unburned pockets remain in the northwest portion of the fire. When the opportunity arises, crews will look to burnout these unburned pockets during periods of favorable weather conditions to limit the potential for spotting. Each day, a fixed wing airplane flies over the fire to help crews detect hot spots around the fire and to ensure the heat remains inside the control lines. 

Fire Statistics: Total complex 88,721 acres, 19% containment.  Haypress 61,218 acres.  Summer 21,586 acres. Cronan 5,880 acres.

Evacuations: 

Evacuation Order: Cecilville, Summerville, Petersburg, and Coffee Creek Road Past Sugar Pine Trailhead in Trinity County.

Evacuation Warning: Sawyers Bar, Coffee Creek, Trinity Center

For specific information regarding evacuations, please visit https://www.co.siskiyou.ca.us/emergencyservices or https://www.trinitycounty.org/OES

An evacuation order means there is an immediate threat to life and is a lawful order to leave immediately.   An evacuation warning means there is a potential threat to life or property.  Those who require additional time to evacuate and those with pets and livestock should leave now.

Road Closures: Trinity County has issued a hard closure of Coffee Creek Road at North Fork Trailhead west of Hwy 3. The Callahan-Cecilville Road is closed from approximately one mile west of the community of Callahan to Cecilville.  The Sawyers Bar Road is closed from Forks of Salmon to Forest Road 40N51. 

Forest Closures:  The following National Forests are under Emergency Forest Closure, effective from August 22, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. through September 6, 2021 at 11:59 p.m.: Klamath National Forest, Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Six Rivers National Forest, Modoc National Forest, Tahoe National Forest, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Plumas National Forest, Mendocino National Forest, and Lassen National Forest.

For more information, please visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/

Resources:  680 Personnel • 14 Crews • 7 Helicopters • 40 Engines • 15 Dozers • 21 Water Tenders •                    5 Masticators

Smoke Report:  https://wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlooks/NorthernCalifornia