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Shoe Fly Fire resources hold lines, construct new ones overnight

MITCHELL, Ore. – Firefighting resources assigned to the Shoe Fly and Two Cabin fires continued to make progress overnight across the majority of the incidents. Firefighters completed line around portions of the Two Cabin Fire and focused on mopping up; this work will continue today. It’s currently 251 acres and 3% contained. 

The Shoe Fly Fire grew from yesterday, now at 21,623 acres. On the southwest side, fire continued to make a push past Flock Mountain and toward Keys Mountain. Additional resources were moved into this area. Today, firefighters will focus in on this portion and work to construct line and tie it back into existing fireline. 

Powerlines servicing a communications site in the Flock Mountain area may continue to be impacted intermittently today. Lines may be deenergized for firefighter safety, sometimes causing a disruption of service in the local area. Potential damages to lines will be assessed. 

On other portions of the fire, resources continued bolstering existing lines across the fires and building new direct ones where possible. Direct line is where firefighters construct fireline against the fire’s edge, which is much stronger than indirect line, where unburned vegetation remains between the fire and line. 

Overnight, direct lines were put in on the east side of the fire, tying into existing ones that have already been established. Mop-up operations continued on the south and southwestern borders of the fire. Due to this progress, containment has increased to 5%.

With a 24-hour operational period, dayshift resources are able to build off the work completed by night shift, and vice versa. This model allows firefighters to take advantage of cooler conditions when the sun is down, which typically decreases fire behavior naturally and helps the team to push forward on overall progress. 

Two task forces of structural firefighters from the Oregon State Fire Marshal are working under the Wheeler County Fire Defense Board Chief providing structure protection in the area.

Evacuation notices for residents around the fire continue to be evaluated by the Wheeler County Sheriff, Wheeler County Fire Defense Board Chief, and Team 1 Operations personnel. More information on current evacuations is available at https://tinyurl.com/RAPTOR-Evacuation-Info

While there are no current road closures due to the Shoe Fly or Two Cabin fires, other fires nearby may be impacting travel. Check https://tripcheck.com/ for current closures and potential delays.