For the safety of firefighters and the public, approximately 3 miles of Road 6700 is closed to public traffic, from Lake Minotaur Trailhead (southwest edge of the fire) to Rainy Creek Campground (northwest edge of the fire). Please use alternate route when navigating the area around the Nason Fire. 
 
Firefighters have been securing containment lines by burning vegetation along established roads on the north and west edges of the fire. This is a firefighting tactic that removes fuels at a low intensity heat in advance of the main fire's arrival. As the main fire approaches the already burned area, there is less fuel for the fire to consume. The main fire in turn loses intensity and is unlikely to spot over roads or burn through containment lines. 
 
We ask the public to please use caution when driving open portions of Road 6700 and Road 6500. Watch for emergency vehicles and traffic congestion. Smoke may settle in drainages where these roads are located, possibly making visibility difficult.
 
 

As part of contingency planning, fire suppression resources on the Nason Fire will be working along established roads near Little Wenatchee River and within Rainy Creek drainage. If you are planning to visit or recreate in the area around the Nason Fire, please use extra caution when driving along roadways. Drive slowly, stay alert to the surrounding traffic, and avoid congesting areas where fire personnel are working.
  
There are currently no closures in the area around the Nason Fire.

Lakeview, OR- This is the final update from the Fox Complex.

The Patton Meadow Fire of the Fox Complex remained at 8,930 acres yesterday with containment growing to 90%.

Tomorrow a local Type 4 team assumes management of the fire at 8:00am. Today they will shadow ODF Team 3 as they prepare to take over. When they assume management, they will complete any remaining mop up, patrol the perimeter of the fire, bring back any remaining, unnecessary equipment, and continue suppression repair work.

Crews will continue mop up operations on the north side of the fire, going 200-300 feet deep, extinguishing any hot spots they discover. In the morning briefing, Operations Section Chief Rob Pentzer told crews, “Do one more grid, one more look for hot spots so we can have this wrapped up.” By the end of the shift, the entire fire perimeter will have a rind at least 200 feet deep into the interior.

Efforts on the east, south and west sides of the fire will continue with hauling equipment back to fire camp and repairing dozer and hand lines that were part of the firefighting effort. As the firefighting effort winds down, most crews will be demobilizing and heading home or onto other fire assignments. There will be some crews and equipment remaining to help the Type 4 team manage the fire going forward.

As the work continues, and the season continues, the public may see smoke from the interior of the fire. This is normal and does not pose any threat to the public.

The Fremont-Winema Forest, and fire area, remains closed due to fire danger. For the latest information on the forest closures, go to https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/fremont-winema/alerts-notices/?cid=stelprdb5317501

Lakeview, OR- The Patton Meadow Fire of the Fox Complex remained at 8,930 acres yesterday with containment growing to 80%.

Today crews will continue mop up operations around the fire, building a rind of up to 300 feet in some areas. Work on the north end of the fire is where crews continue to find and extinguish the highest number of hot spots. Operation Section Chief Eric Perkins said in the morning briefing to be diligent in mopping up and to “keep looking for hot spots you didn’t see yesterday, or the day before, to ensure we are being thorough.”

As containment increases and is complete on the south, west and east sides of the fire, crews are working to remove hose lays and repair areas impacted by fire containment efforts. As the firefighting effort winds down, more crews will be demobilizing and heading home or onto other fire assignments.

There is a Facebook Live community closeout meeting tonight at 7p.m. on the South Central Oregon Fire Management Partnership Facebook page. The link for the meeting is https://fb.me/e/1xp006hh5

Lakeview, OR- Containment on the Patton Meadow Fire is now at 70%. Crews are gridding the fire’s perimeter and increasing the rind by digging out and applying water to hot spots. The majority of containment efforts are along the north perimeter of the fire along Cottonwood Road. Several additional crews have been assigned to accelerate the mop up activities in this area. Fallers are working ahead of crews to remove hazard trees for the safety of hand crews performing mop up operations.

Along the west, south, and east perimeters, mop up efforts continue further into the black to meet containment objectives. Crews continue to grid the green to locate any spot fires outside the fire perimeter. In areas where containment is complete, efforts are ramping up to remove hose lays and repair areas impacted by fire containment efforts. Unneeded equipment will be hauled off the fire line. As the firefighting effort winds down, more crews will be demobilizing and heading home or onto other fire assignments.

The National Guard continues assisting with traffic control for the safety of firefighters and the public. We thank them for their contributions throughout this firefighting effort.

Today’s forecast calls for a mid-level trough moving into the region that will increase cloud cover, cooling high temperatures slightly and keeping afternoon humidity around 15-20%. Southwest winds around 10mph in the morning will increase to 15mph with gusts of 20-25mph in the afternoon.

Lakeview, OR- “Last night, we threw down on this fire,” said night Operations Section Chief Rob Pentzer during an energetic morning briefing today. Night crews cleared a rind of 25-50ft along the fire’s north perimeter, the hottest area on the fire where burnout operations started over the weekend and continue to consume fuels. Mop up is proceeding well, with a rind of up to 300 feet on the east, south, and west sides of the fire.

“We’re in a great place. I’m very pleased with how things turned out after burnout operations two nights ago,” said day shift Operations Section Chief Eric Perkins. Crews today will continue mop up operations across the fire’s perimeter with a goal of reaching a minimum of 100ft before handing the fire over to local resources.

Today’s update includes a reduction of fire acreage on the Patton Meadow Fire from 8,947 to 8,930 total acres due to more accurate mapping of the fire’s perimeter.

Today’s forecast calls for temperatures in the mid-70s with relative humidity around 10 to 15%. Winds from the south and southwest will continue to bring smoke from California into the region.

Yesterday at the Incident Command Post at the Lake County Fairgrounds, Airman Saida Wise, of the Oregon Air National Guard, received a field promotion to Airman First Class by 1st Lieutenant Morgan Lindsay. Both Lindsay and Wise are members of the 173rd Fighter Wing at Kingsley Field, Oregon, and, along with other members of the Air National Guard, are here helping with traffic control points around the Patton Meadow Fire. Congratulations to Airman Saida!

Current Patton Meadow Fire evacuation levels have been lifted.

Lakeview, OR- Wildland crews on the Patton Meadow Fire are focused on completing burnout and mop up operations. Favorable wind conditions overnight allowed crews to make good progress on burnout operations on the fire’s north end, while the west, south, and east perimeters of the fire are focused on mop up and reconfirming the extent to which the fire has been completely extinguished within the fire’s perimeter.

A detailed explanation of the burnout operation process was covered in last night’s Facebook Live Information meeting. Click here to view the video. https://www.facebook.com/SCOFMPFIREINFO/videos/362457995591471

Ground crews are methodically checking the “green” around the fire’s perimeter in order to identify and contain any new spot fires. Crews working within the “black,” or burned area, as well as the “green” of the fire are using infrared technology to identify and extinguish hot spots still smoldering undetectable with the human eye.

Mop up efforts continue to expand into the fire’s interior, with some areas on the fire’s east side reaching up to 300 feet in from containment lines and many other areas at or above 100 feet of confirmed rind.

Today’s forecast calls for a cooling trend with winds out of the northwest, with potential for gusts up to 20-25mph.

Current Patton Meadow Fire evacuation levels have been reduced and can be found on Lake County Sheriff’s Office by visiting https://www.facebook.com/Lake-County-Oregon-104435824529906

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;}

Note: We will be moving to one update per day unless increased fire activity calls for additional releases.

Lakeview, OR- The Fox Complex has been reduced to one fire. The Willow Valley Fire, standing at 824 acres and 85 percent contained, was officially handed back to the local BLM district today. The remaining Patton Meadow Fire is now 7,252 acres and 33 percent contained.

The Patton Meadow Fire’s growth is primarily due to controlled burnout operations that are bringing the head of the fire to containment lines and roads on the north end of the fire.
Crews on the west, east and south sides of the perimeter are gridding for heat into the fire’s interior and applying water to extinguish any remaining hot spots.
The fire’s north perimeter is plumbed with fire hose with burnout operations to continue over the next several days as conditions allow.

Lingering smoke from the Schneider Springs Fire in Central Washington is forecast to move out today with no additional smoke upwind from the region. With clearing skies, winds will pick up a bit mid-morning and remain generally light throughout the day. A dry cold front is forecast to roll in overnight bringing increased winds from the west.

OSFM task forces and the Blue Incident Management Team will be returning to their home agencies on Saturday. OSFM would like to thank all of the local agencies for their hard work during the initial attack and their ongoing support during the incident. The cooperation and teamwork by all contributed to the early and ongoing success of firefighting operations. OSFM appreciates the community of Lakeview for their warm welcome and hospitality during their stay. ODF Team 3 will be continuing their work of managing the incident.

Patton Meadow Fire evacuation levels were reduced yesterday. Current evacuation levels can be found on Lake County Sheriff’s Office by visiting https://www.facebook.com/Lake-County-Oregon-104435824529906.

Note: We will be moving to one update per day unless increased fire activity calls for additional releases.
#FoxComplexFire Evening Update for Thursday, August 19th, 2021Lakeview, OR- Following three consecutive days of zero growth, ODF Team 3 will officially hand the Willow Valley Fire over to the local BLM district tomorrow.Burnout operations on the Patton Meadow Fire were complicated by smoke blowing into the region from the Schneider Springs Fire, 20 miles northwest of Naches, WA. The increased smoke is leading to cooler temperatures and higher relative humidity, making it difficult for fuels to consume. Burnout operations will continue, in small chunks, over the next several days as conditions allow.
Night Operations Section Chief Mike White commended ground crews on their flexibility in adapting to changing conditions thus far, but emphasized that “thoroughness and a methodical approach will be key in this stage of firefighting operations.” As burnout operations progress, other crews are now shifting their focus to identifying and putting out hot spots as part of mop up efforts.
The structural and wildland crews have worked well together and their hard work continues to reduce the possible threats to structures. Two additional task forces were sent home this afternoon with four structural task forces remaining. These crews will continue to assist wildland crews with mop up operations utilizing specialized tools, including thermal imaging cameras that can detect heat not visible to the human eye.
ODF Team 3, OSFM Blue Team, and the Lake County Sheriff’s Department would like to thank all the members of the community that came out for our “Community Conversation” earlier this afternoon. Firefighters appreciate the recognition for their efforts.
Patton Meadow Fire evacuation levels were reduced today. Current evacuation levels can be found on Lake County Sheriff’s Office by visiting https://www.facebook.com/Lake-County-Oregon-104435824529906.