Single Publication

Favorable weather moderates Bingham Fire growth
Daily Update: October 6, 2024
 

Fire Information Phone: 503-854-3366 (8 a.m.-8 p.m.) 
Email: 2024.Bingham@firenet.gov 

Acres: 183      Containment: 0%

Location: Areas of the Mount Jefferson Wilderness, east of Marion Forks.
Start Date: September 30,2024             Personnel:   251              
Resources: 10 crews | 10 engines | 2 bulldozers |  

Highlights: The Bingham Fire saw minimal growth as cooler temperatures and low wind speeds kept the fire at its existing 183 acres. California Incident Management Team 1, under the direction of incident commander John Goss, assumed management of the fire at 6 a.m. today.

Firefighters worked throughout the day building containment lines around the fire’s perimeter. Particular attention was given to the fire’s northwest corner, where an enclave of summer homes and a fish hatchery lie about 2 miles from the fire’s perimeter. A crew of firefighters have been stationed near the structures to begin constructing contingency containment lines in the event the fire escapes its current perimeter.

While fire behavior has been tempered by weather in the mid-60s and winds mostly less than 5 miles an hour the last two days, temperatures are forecasted to climb into the upper 70s today and into the 80s Monday. Winds are expected to remain relatively calm, up to 5 to 10 miles an hour.

Evacuations: LEVEL 3: GO NOW! evacuation alerts have been issued by the Linn County Sheriff’s Office for a large area of the Mount Jefferson Wilderness. Additionally, LEVEL 2: GET SET evacuation alerts have been issued for the area around Marion Forks Campground and Marion Forks Fish Hatchery. The Level 2 evacuation area also extends along Highway 22, to a ½-mile west of Highway 22, from Pamelia Road (NFS Road 2246) south to Parrish Lake Road (NFS Road 2266). Please refer to the Linn County Wildfire Map for more information: https://tinyurl.com/LinnCoFireMap. Highway 22 remains open at this time. 

The Willamette National Forest issued an updated formal closure Oct. 4 in the same footprint of the Level 3 Evacuation here: https://tinyurl.com/26jpr9a6.  A large evacuation area like this is necessary to give wildfire response teams enough space to safely travel to and fight the fire as crews will be on road systems and trails and air assets may be utilizing nearby water sources. The fire itself is much smaller than the evacuation area. The Pacific Crest Trail through the Mount Jefferson Wilderness is expected to remain open. The trails and roads west of the highway are closed from Pamelia to Big Meadows Loop/Turpentine Loop area. Hunting season will be opening today, and the forest will work with Linn County Sheriff to reduce closure areas as soon as it is safe to do so.

Weather: Mild and dry conditions with light winds are expected. Temperatures are forecasted to climb into the low 80s by Monday, but falling back into the 60s on Tuesday. A 10 percent chance of rain is expected by Tuesday or Wednesday.