Single Publication

River Complex Fire Update
Saturday, August 28, 2021

Fire Statistics: Total complex 96,525 acres, 23% containment.  Haypress 65,258 acres.  Summer 25,055 acres. Cronan 5,905 acres.

Etna, CA —  Crews are using water dropping helicopters and  Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) to stay in front of the fire, and bring low intensity fires down towards perimeter lines in a controlled manner. There are currently 31 pieces of heavy equipment assigned to the River Complex, allowing the crews to build fire lines and continue their work to limit fire growth. 

On Friday, clearer skies and breezy conditions increased fire activity across the Haypress and Summer fires.  Crews on the Cronan fire continue to hold and secure the control lines.  Crews increased containment on the Parker Spot fire that is burning southeast of the Haypress.   Decreasing winds tonight should provide optimal conditions for the night shift and their firing operations.      

Incident Management Team 13 has arrived and will transition with Incident Management Team 15 for the remainder of the day.  Incident Management Team 13 will assume control of the incident beginning Sunday at 0700 hours. 

Fire Behavior:

Haypress:  Most of the heat on the Haypress is along the east side, north of Three Sisters Gulch. Over the last several days, the fire has progressed up Hickory Creek and crossed the ridge. It has progressed down into the very upper portions of the north fork of Coffee Creek. Progress is being made on the Parker Meadow spot fire on the southeast of the Haypress, as crews continue to be supported with water dropping helicopters. The growth on the spot fire will be concentrated to the northwest towards rockier terrain and away from the community of Trinity Center. In preparation of the main fire backing down Fish Creek, crews are utilizing firing operations to construct and improve control lines on the east fork of the Salmon River.

Summer Fire:  The Summer fire continues to grow to the west as it moves up to Bear Ridge. The fire will reduce the intensity once it hits the ridge, as the fuel is limited and not continuous. 

Cronan Fire:  A critically dry day yesterday caused one of the unburned areas within the Cronan fire perimeter to increase in fire activity. Crews took advantage of the overnight burn window to further secure the perimeter by burning out the remainder of the unburned vegetation. Particular attention will be paid to this area again today, to ensure the fire activity will not pose a threat to the control lines. 

Weather:  Light wind and higher temperatures are expected Saturday across the River Complex.  Smoke dispersal will be poor, resulting in moderate fire weather conditions.

Today:       

·       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

·       Scout, perform structure triage assessments, and build control line west of Coffee Creek,

·       Trinity Center, and Hwy-3 corridor to protect these values.

·       Insert 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.

Resources:  

·       748 Crews, 9 Helicopters, 47 Engines, 21 Dozers, 27 Water Tenders, 8 Masticators, 2 Skid-Steers

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/

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