Single Publication

Fire Update

2023 SRF Lightning Complex & Redwood Lightning Complex

Saturday, September 9, 2023 – 9:00 a.m.

Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 1

Dan Dallas, Incident Commander

Information Phone: 530-536-0767

Email: 2023.lightningcomplex@firenet.gov

Information Staffing Hours: 8 am to 8 pm

Special Note: This update covers 10 of the 20 fires currently being managed as part of the Complexes. The remaining 10 fires are listed in the accompanying Complex Overview. Those fires, totaling 1,748 acres, are contained and in patrol status. They are checked daily, and their size and containment are unlikely to change.

Current Situation: The 20 fires in this incident total 18,184 acres and overall containment is 23%. The uncontained fires described below total 16,436 acres. Hog Fire and Lost Fire are in Redwood National and State Parks. All other fires described in this update are in Six Rivers National Forest. A total of 956 personnel are assigned to the incident. Recent rains have brought a change in the fire environment. Fire modeling experts predict there is a low probability these fires will grow significantly for the remainder of the season. Current fire, weather, and fuels conditions are approaching optimal for using carefully managed fire as a tool to remove excess fuels from the landscape. Agency administrators and fire managers, in consultation with tribal leaders, are considering proactive options for reducing fuels to lessen future fire likelihood in the area. A firing group has been assembled to take advantage of strategic firing opportunities throughout the Complex as conditions allow.

Hog Fire (0.01 acres) – This fire is contained. After today, it will no longer appear in this summary of uncontained fires, but it will be listed in the Complex Overview.

Lost Fire (740 acres, 68% contained) – Crews have now completed fireline construction around all of the fire perimeter except a small portion in the northwest corner of the fire. Suppression repair work, such as recontouring dozer and hand lines and reconditioning roads, is in progress. This work is being completed by hand crews assisted by two excavators and a grader. Backhaul of unneeded equipment is ongoing.

Pearch Fire (5210 acres, 8% contained) – The southern end of the fire in Divisions Z and J is contained, and crews continue to patrol and further secure this area. An area of heat remains on the east side of the fire near Butler Creek. Yesterday, a check line was built around an 80-90 acre pocket of unburned fuels in the western part of the fire, and strategic firing operations were implemented to reduce fuels in this area. Operations were partially successful, although fuels beneath the top layer of surface litter remain moist from recent rains. A chipper is removing slash from an indirect line/road near the southwest corner of the fire. The structure protection group continues daily checks of hoses, sprinklers, and other structure equipment in the area, and unneeded equipment is being backhauled. A night shift of engines continues to work the fire.

Bluff #1 (2112 acres, 26% contained) and Mosquito (2604 acres, 24% contained) Fires – Hand crews, dozers, masticators, and chippers have been working continuously since the early days of these two fires to construct a containment “box” of direct and indirect containment lines around the fires. This work is now almost complete. Fire managers plan to complete the objective of full suppression of these fires, while also performing landscape-level reduction of excess fuels to lessen the presence or intensity of future fires, by initiating a plan of strategic firing operations within this containment box. This work will begin as soon as fuels have dried sufficiently from recent rains to carry fire. This is expected to occur within the next day or two. Implementation of the plan will be slow and methodical over multiple days to allow monitoring of effectiveness and make adjustments as needed. Residents can expect to see more smoke during these firing operations. This is an expected result and not an indicator that the fires have escaped or present a danger. This operation has been carefully planned and coordinated with cooperating agencies and tribal leaders. Work on these two fires, as well as others in the Complex, is being closely coordinated with tribal resource advisors to ensure that important cultural and historical resources are being protected.

Blue Creek #2 (3267 acres, 0% contained), Marlow (1554 acres, 0% contained), and Copper (871 acres, 0% contained) Fires – These fires are being patrolled by aerial resources as weather conditions allow. They are bounded by indirect control lines to the east and south, and significant movement of these fires is not expected.

Monument (2 acres, 0% contained) and Let er-Buck (75 acres, 0% contained)  Fires – Due to limited values at risk, the remote, steep terrain and associated safety concerns for our firefighters, and the low probability of success using standard suppression tactics, these fires are being addressed with a confinement strategy. Terrain, natural fire barriers such as rock outcroppings, and old fire footprints where fuels are limited will be used to confine fire growth until season ending precipitation extinguishes the fires. These fires are checked regularly by aerial patrols to ensure they remain within acceptable bounds, and little to no fire growth has been observed.

Weather: Stable weather will continue today with morning valley clouds giving way to mostly sunny skies. Highs will range from the 70s on upper slopes to around 90 on valley floors. Winds will be light from the southwest on ridges and diurnally driven on lower slopes. The forecast remains dry into next week.

For information on Closures, Evacuations, and Alert Notifications please see the accompanying Complex Overview.

Fire Information Contacts

Phone: 530-536-0767 | Email: 2023.lightningcomplex@firenet.gov

InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/casrf-2023-srf-lightning-complex

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/2023SRFRedwoodLightning

Redwood National and State Parks Information Hotline: Phone: 707-464-6101

https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/conditions.htm

Hoopa Information Hotline: Phone: 530-618-2995 | Email: serene.oes@gmail.com

More Fire Information Links: www.linktr.ee/srffirepio