Single Publication

Little Yamsay Fire Update - May 8, 2024  

Fire Information: 971-978-7899

Email: 2024.littleyamsay@firenet.gov

Size: 2,009 acres  Location: 15 miles southeast of Chemult, OR near Klamath Marsh

Start Date: Detected April 20, 2024  Cause: Lightning  Total Personnel: 91

Crews: 2  Engines: 5  Heavy Equipment: 6  Water Tenders: 4

Firefighters continue preparing control lines for firing operations that will resume when weather and fuel moistures are favorable. Once fuels are receptive, Union, La Grande, and Lakeview Interagency Hotshot Crews will be using drip torches to ignite fuels along with aerial ignition support from Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS or drones) modules. Test fires will likely occur this afternoon in phases two and three to evaluate whether or not objectives are being met.

The weather forecast calls for a warming and drying trend as a high pressure system strengthens over the region. This warm up will push temperatures well above averages with daytime humidities dropping into the teens. This weekend will see highs reach the mid-70s with low RH. Wind direction will be northeast, becoming east by Friday.

This lightning-caused wildfire is an opportunity to influence the spread of low-intensity fire into an area that was already thinned, logged, and prepared for prescribed fire. Our group of experienced, professional wildland firefighters are carefully and methodically conducting a series of firing operations that will mimic historical natural fire, burning the fuels between the main fire and our established containment lines. This operations falls under the guidance and directive of the Wildfire Crisis Strategy. Below is an excerpt from this document.

“It will take a paradigm shift in land management across jurisdictional boundaries to reduce risk and restore fire-adapted landscapes….To restore forest health and reduce wildfire risk, a large multi-organizational workforce with expertise in proactive fuels and forest health management is needed for thinning forests, conducting prescribed fires, and using lightning fires and other unplanned ignitions to return fire to the land and restore forest health…We need to thin western forests and return low-intensity fire to western landscapes in the form of both prescribed and natural fire, working to ensure that forest lands and communities are resilient in the face of the wildland fire that fire-adapted landscapes need.”

There are no closures or evacuations for the Little Yamsay Fire. Residents and visitors traveling to the area are encouraged to drive responsibly as emergency firefighter vehicles will be present. Expect delays as traffic control may be implemented due to smoke and/or hazards.

Social Media Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SCOFMPFIREINFO

Inciweb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/orfwf-little-yamsay-fire 

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@scofmpfireinformation6729

Fremont-Winema NF Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/R6FWNF