Single Publication

Tuesday, September 26, 2023 - Morning Update 

Current Status: 
Lookout Fire: Size: 25,751 acres l Start Date: August 5 l Cause: Lightning l Containment: 50% 
Bedrock Fire: Size: 31,590 acres l Start Date: July 22 l Cause: under investigation l Containment: 98% 
Petes Lake Fire: Size: 3,254 acres l Start Date: August 25 l Cause: Lightning l Completion: 50% Horse Creek Fire: Size: 763 acres l Start Date: August 24 l Cause: Lightning l Containment: 100% 
Pothole Fire: Size: 109 acres l Start Date: August 25 l Cause: Lightning l Containment: 100% 

Total Personnel: 667 

Total Assigned Resources: 21 engines l 18 crews l 3 dozers l 10 water tenders l 4 masticators l 3 helicopters 

Suppression: A couple of engine crews patrolled the Petes Lake Fire on Monday and will continue that effort into today. The crews assigned to Petes Lake Fire are checking for any remaining signs of heat near the fire’s edge as they finish grinding vegetation that was removed to improve the fuel break east of the fire along the Cascade Lakes Highway. At the end of today’s shift, suppression efforts will be coming to a close. The Petes Lake Fire, Horse Creek Fire, and Pothole Fire will all continue to be monitored, but may not have a presence of firefighters throughout each day as none of these fires has shown any growth in nearly a week. 

Suppression Repair: Lighter rains than predicted allowed firefighters to complete more suppression repair than expected. The precipitation and gusty winds did, however, limit some road repair efforts within the Bedrock Fire on Monday. Nearly half of the dozer and handlines created during suppression efforts on the Bedrock Fire have been repaired. Suppression repair efforts on the Horse Creek Fire and southwest portion of the Lookout Fire should be completed by the end of Tuesday. Elsewhere on the Lookout Fire, fire crews will continue to chip woody vegetation removed as a fuel source during the suppression efforts. Additionally, logs cut during the firefighting efforts continue to be hauled from the fire’s footprint. 

Suppression actions that need to be repaired are frequently identified even while those actions are occurring. The process to complete suppression repair efforts involves close coordination between the Resource Advisors and the firefighters during, and following, firefighting efforts. Once the dozer lines, handlines, or other disturbances are identified, they are tracked on a map. As crews work to repair damage from the firefighting efforts, those areas are classified as either in progress or completed. Once firefighters improve the conditions on the ground to a pre-fire state, the Resource Advisors inspect the repair efforts before marking them as completed. More than 300 points on the landscape and 57.8 miles of repair work has been completed as of Monday evening. 

Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation (BAER): The BAER Team, comprised of resource specialists, released findings from their field surveys and assessment of the Bedrock Fire burned areas on September. 21. BAER Team members will begin their study and assessment of the Lookout Fire burned areas on Thursday, September 27. A report and maps will be released following the analysis of their findings. 

Weather: Rainfall amounts on Monday were lower than expected, ranging from 0.1 inches to 0.25 inches across the fire areas. After a break in precipitation during Monday afternoon, additional showers resumed overnight into Tuesday morning. Overnight low temperatures fell to the low- to mid-40s with gusty winds from the south. Cooler temperatures 

and additional moisture are expected to persist late into the week, with a warming and drying trend expected by the end of the week. 

Evacuations: Evacuations for the Bedrock, Lookout, Horse Creek, Pothole, and Petes Lake Fires have been lifted. There are no evacuations notices in place within Lane, Linn, or Deschutes Counties for these fires currently. 

Forest Closures: Emergency closure orders remain in place for the Willamette National Forest and the Deschutes National Forest. Current emergency closure orders on National Forest System lands affect some hunting units. A map showing which units are affected by the Lookout Fire and the associated closure order is available on InciWeb. For specific hunting related questions, contact Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife at (503) 947-6000. 

Restrictions: Fire Restrictions are in place on the Willamette National Forest. As of September 22, the Deschutes National Forests has dropped public use (fire) restrictions. Temporary Flight Restrictions remain in place over the Bedrock and Lookout Fire areas. 

Smoke Outlook: With a decrease in fire activity, smoke outlooks for these fires are no longer being issued. Air quality conditions are still available at airnow.gov. 

Fire Information: 

Email: 2023.lookout@firenet.gov 

Phone: 541-215-6735 (8 a.m. - 8 p.m.) 

Facebook: 

• Lookout, Horse Creek, and Pothole Fires 

• Bedrock Fire 

• Petes Lake Fire 

InciWeb: 

• Lookout Fire 

• Horse Creek Fire (includes Pothole Fire) 

• Bedrock Fire 

• Petes Lake Fire