Single Publication

Location: Six Rivers National Forest 

Size: 86,748 acres 

Percent Contained: 21% 

Cause: Lightning 

Start Date: Tuesday, August 15, 2023, 6:01 PM 

Vegetation: Timber (Litter and Understory) and Brush 

Number of Personnel Assigned: 1,712 

ANNOUNCEMENT: Beginning Thursday, September 14, US 199 in Del Norte County will be fully closed twice daily, Monday through Friday, from 8 AM to 11 AM and from 1 PM. to 4 PM. During all open hours, traffic will be one-way and piloted between Madrona and Oregon Mountain Road. Motorists should anticipate delays during all open hours. Caltrans provides information on current highway conditions online (roads.dot.ca.gov), by phone (800-427-7623), and on Facebook (facebook.com/CaltransD1). 

CURRENT SITUATION: The firing operation adjacent to US 199 remains the priority. Crews completed the burning phase of the project and, over the next several days, will be extinguishing hotspots and monitoring it. To reduce the threat to motorists and the roadway, they are also removing rocks and trees that were weakened when the fire initially burned across the highway. On the western perimeter near Stony Creek, fire behavior increased to a degree that helicopters were used for water drops, which reduced the fire’s intensity where it was burning in an area with many stumps and large logs. In most places around the fire perimeter where small-scale firing operations are planned, the vegetation and downed fuels are not dry enough to adequately spread the low-intensity fire. Crews are expecting conditions to become more favorable for their planned burning operations as the week progresses. Work priorities for Wednesday are the US 199 corridor, Stony Creek, and the shaded fuel break project on Table Mountain. 

California Interagency Incident Management Team 4, under the leadership of Incident Commander Rocky Opliger, assumed command of the Smith River Complex–South on Wednesday at 7 a.m. 

WEATHER: Unseasonably hot, dry weather is forecast for the area through the weekend. Expect temperatures in the mid-80 degrees. Thursday will be the hottest, driest day of the week with temperatures in most areas reaching or exceeding 90 degrees and afternoon relative humidities dropping to near 20 percent. Winds Wednesday will switch to the northeast and increase, with gusts over 20 miles per hour likely at higher elevations. 

EVACUATIONS: Information about current evacuation status can be found on the interactive evacuation map: tinyurl.com/29vv2wpm. Some Del Norte County evacuation zones remain under either a Level 2 (Get Set) or Level 1 (Get Ready) evacuation order. 

AIR QUALITY: Smoke Outlooks with air quality and forecast information are available here: tinyurl.com/258mfms3.  

FOREST CLOSURE: Six Rivers National Forest lands, roads, trails, and recreation sites in the vicinity of the complex are closed (Forest Order No. 10-23-06). View the Order and closure map on the Forest’s website: tinyurl.com/4atens8c. 

Fire Information: 707-383-9727 

Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. 

Email: 2023.SmithRiverComplex@firenet.gov 

Incident Website: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8287