Single Publication

2,400 pounds of water-handling equipment air lifted to firefighters

Daily Update: October 9, 2024

Fire Information Phone: 503-854-3366 (8 a.m.-8 p.m.) 

Email: 2024.Bingham@firenet.gov 

Acres: 199      Containment: 53%

Location: Areas of the Mount Jefferson Wilderness, east of Marion Forks.

Start Date: September 30,2024             Personnel:   384                 

Resources: 14 crews | 5 engines | 1 bulldozer | 3 water tenders | 1 masticator

Highlights: Helicopters made multiple deliveries of water-handling equipment Tuesday, Oct. 8, to firefighters as they kept the Bingham Fire to 199 acres and increased containment to 53 percent. 

Crews were aided by the delivery of 2,400 pounds of equipment used to store and dispense water, such as bladder bags (backpack water pumps) and blivets (containers holding 55 to 72 gallons of water used to refill bladder bags). The equipment allowed firefighters to douse heat sources along the fire’s perimeter and deeper into its interior, widening containment lines up to 50 feet in a number of areas.

Crews will continue patrolling containment lines and extinguishing hot spots. Increased air traffic might be observed over the fire as helicopters deliver and retrieve additional equipment during the next few days. 

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. 

The Willamette National Forest issued a closure order Oct. 4 within the same footprint as the Level 3 evacuation zone. Details of the closure order can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/26jpr9a6. The Pacific Crest Trail through the Mount Jefferson Wilderness is expected to remain open. Trails and roads west of the highway are closed from Pamelia to the Big Meadows Loop/Turpentine Loop area. With hunting season started, Forest Service staff will work with the Linn County Sheriff’s Office to reduce closure areas as soon as it is safe to do so.

Weather: Temperatures have cooled today to the mid-50s and lower 60s with possible wind gusts up to 18 miles an hour. Relative humidities have increased to between 65 to 70 percent along with a 20 percent chance of rain.