Riverside Fire Operations Video Update, Sept. 19, 2020, with Planning Operations Trainee Ralph Lucas

Hand crews and dozers continue to construct and connect firelines on the west and north sides of the fire. On the east and south sides of the fire, firefighters seeking opportunities to limit the fire’s spread within that remote, rugged terrain.
Link to full video here:  https://bit.ly/2ZSH3Fa 

Riverside Fire – September 19, 2020 Update

Acres: 137,865                                                                                                Riverside Fire Info: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7174/                                                                                                                             

Containment: 11%                                                                                                                            fb.com/RiversideFireInfo 

Start Date: September 8, 2020                                                                                                      twitter.com/fire_riverside

  Cause: Human                                                                                                                                      #RiversideFire #ClackamasWildfires

Total Personnel: 720                                                                                                    509-228-7805 (public) 509-202-4184 (media)

Improved Air Quality and Visibility; Additional Resources Arriving

Despite much of the fire area receiving a quarter inch of rain or more, the fire remains active in deep layers of needles on the forest floor, stumps, logs, and standing dead trees. ­

“Rain doesn’t do much to put out the fire unless we get a lot of it,” said Incident Commander Alan Sinclair. “But the good news is the cool, damp weather is moderating fire activity and giving us a chance to make progress in containment efforts.”

Hand crews and dozers continue to construct and connect firelines on the west and north sides of the fire. On the east and south sides of the fire, firefighters are using indirect line opportunities some distance from the fire, including existing roads outside the wilderness area as the safest, most effective opportunities to limit the fire’s spread in the remote, rugged terrain. The Riverside Fire remains the #1 priority in the Northwest Geographic Area. Additional resources continue to arrive. Firefighters are working with nearby incident management teams to share resources where they are needed most.

With improved visibility, firefighters plan to fly Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) as needed. If you fly, we can’t. A Temporary Flight Restriction is in effect (tfr.faa.gov). Unauthorized use of UAS or drones in a fire area endangers the lives of pilots and firefighters. All fire aircraft will all be grounded if a drone is spotted. knowbeforeyoufly.org/uasandwildfires/

Firefighters are working to protect a wide variety of values at risk including: public and firefighter safety; local communities in Clackamas County; ancestral tribal lands; powerlines; recreation sites and facilities; hydropower and natural gas energy resources; communication sites; federal, state, and private forest resources; archaeological, historical, and cultural resources; designated wilderness areas and wild and scenic rivers; river ecosystems and riparian areas; wildlife and fisheries resources and habitat. 

Fire managers are also working closely with our partners including the Oregon Department of Transportation to support damage assessments for OR-224 along the Clackamas River corridor east of Estacada, OR.  Fb.com/OregonDOT/

There will be a  Riverside Fire virtual community meeting tonight at 6pm on Fb.com/RiversideFireInfo. No account is required to view the video.

Current evacuation information is available at clackamas.us/wildfires or by calling 503-655-8224.

Today, air quality is much improved after a week of heavy smoke. More information: oregonsmoke.blogspot.com. Willamette Valley Smoke outlook: wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlooks/nworegon

Visit TripCheck.com for numerous road closures in the area. The Mt. Hood National Forest, state forest lands in the fire area, and large portions of Bureau of Land Management lands are closed: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/closures/7174/

Last night, the Southwest Area Incident Management Team, Type One, hosted a virtual community meeting to share updates on the Riverside Fire.

Message from Alan Sinclair, Incident Commander - We understand the importance of getting back home and we are having daily conversations with the cooperators and are moving as quickly as possible to get you back where you need to be.

Link to the meeting here: http://bit.ly/2RE7PN6_Sept19Mtg 

We'll be hosting another live virtual community meeting at 6 p.m. tonight (9/19) on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/RiversideFireInfo/.

We encourage the public to share their questions with us in the comment thread during the meeting. They can also send in questions and comments to us at 2020.riverside@firenet.gov.  
 
Links to all community meetings and video operation briefings with closed captioning are posted our Facebook page. Videos with closed captioning are also available on our YouTube page at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwR4XDM1zb5tOYJ6W1gPlKg?view_as=subscriber  

Special Statement

The AIR QUALITY ADVISORY for non-coastal areas of the State issued by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality remains in effect.

Fire

Fire activity on the Riverside, Beachie Creek, Lionshead, and Holiday Farm fires has slowed significantly, with small pockets of heat along the fireline where crews are working. Yesterday's cooler temperatures and precipitation helped firefighter efforts. Internal pockets and dense understory will continue to smolder and clean up throughout the weekend.

Smoke

Today, air quality is much improved after a week of heavy smoke. Coastal areas and the entire Willamette Valley is seeing much-needed relief, which continues Saturday into Sunday. PM levels will be Good to Moderate throughout the day. The region will experience clean skies from Eugene to Salem and Portland. Pockets of Moderate may remain as smoke continues to lift. Albany and Corvallis will remain Good throughout Saturday. Mostly Good PM is expected and Moderate possible especially near local sources unrelated to smoke.

Health

If you are experiencing health effects from smoke, you are encouraged to follow the "Actions to Protect Yourself" listed below. Additional recommendations can be found on the Oregon Smoke Blog Stay safe and check current air quality conditions at Smoke and Fire Map.

Riverside Fire – September 18, 2020 Update

Acres: 137,865                                                                                                Riverside Fire Info: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7174/                                                                                                                             

Containment: 10%                                                                                                                            fb.com/RiversideFireInfo 

Start Date: September 8, 2020                                                                                                      twitter.com/fire_riverside

  Cause: Human                                                                                                                                      #RiversideFire #ClackamasWildfires

Total Personnel: 647                                                                                                    509-228-7805 (public) 509-202-4184 (media)

Heavy rains, localized debris flow potential continues in the fire area

Fast moving, heavy rains are forecasted over much of the fire area and could result in localized flash flooding and debris flow from recently burned areas. Gusty winds may also topple fire weakened trees across local roads. Firefighters will continue to work only if weather conditions safely allow.

“While the rains may help dampen fire growth for a few days, they will continue to present other hazards for our firefighters and communities” said Incident Commander Alan Sinclair. “Please avoid roads near previous fire activity, low-lying areas, and continually check weather alerts to keep yourself and your loved ones safe.”    

Fire managers do not anticipate these rains to be a fire ending event. The fire will likely continue to burn in deep layers of needles on the forest floor, stumps, logs, and standing dead trees. Hand crews and dozers continue to make progress constructing and connecting firelines on the west and north sides of the fire. Once firelines are in place, firefighters will be mopping up, eliminating hotspots 20-30 feet within the fire’s perimeter along the fire’s edge. On the east and south sides of the fire, firefighters are looking for indirect line opportunities some distance from the fire, using existing roads outside the wilderness area as the safest, most effective opportunities to limit the fire’s spread in the remote, rugged terrain.

Firefighters are working to protect values at risk including public and firefighter safety; local communities in Clackamas County; ancestral tribal lands; infrastructure including powerlines, recreation sites and facilities, hydro and natural gas  energy resources, communication sites; federal, state, and private forest resources; archaeological, historical, and cultural resources; designated wilderness areas and wild and scenic rivers; river ecosystems and riparian areas; wildlife and fisheries resources and habitat.

There will be a Riverside Fire virtual community meeting at 6 pm tonight on Fb.com/RiversideFireInfo. No account is required to view the video.

If you fly, we can’t. All fire aircraft will all be grounded if a drone is spotted. A Temporary Flight Restriction is in effect. knowbeforeyoufly.org/uasandwildfires/

Current evacuation information is available at clackamas.us/wildfires or by calling 503-655-8224. Sign up to receive emergency messages via email, phone call, and text at clackamas.us/dm/publicalerts.

Smoke is forecasted to gradually improve throughout the day on Friday with improved air quality through the weekend. More at oregonsmoke.blogspot.com.

Visit TripCheck.com for numerous road closures in the area. The Mt. Hood National Forest, State Forests in Oregon, and large portions of Bureau of Land Management lands are closed: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/closures/7174/

Starting Friday, Sept. 18, the Tillamook and Clatsop state forests will re-open along with ODF-managed lands in Columbia, Lincoln, Polk, and Benton counties. Know Before You Go: Check public use restrictions before you head out​.

The Gilchrist and Sun Pass state forests along with ODF-managed lands in Klamath, Jackson, Josephine, Coos, Douglas and Lane counties remain closed due to extreme fire danger.

The Santiam State Forest remains closed until further notice.​
 
More information posted here:  https://www.oregon.gov/odf/Fire/Pages/default.aspx

The Riverside fire management does not include several smaller fires burning in the Clackamas region, such as the North Cascade Complex (Dowty, Unger, Whilhoit and Graves fires). For information on area fires outside of the Riverside fire, please visit one of the following resources:

Oregon Department of Forestry Emergency Messages: https://flashalert.net/id/OregonForestry or https://www.facebook.com/oregondepartmentofforestry/

Clackamas Fire District 1: http://www.flashalert.net/news.html?id=799 or https://www.facebook.com/clackamasfire/

Clackamas County: https://www.clackamas.us/wildfires

Oregon Wildfires: https://wildfire.oregon.gov/

Special Statement

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has issued an AIR QUALITY ADVISORY for non-coastal areas of the State due to Hazardous smoke conditions.

Fire

Fire activity on the Riverside, Beachie Creek, and Lionshead fires has slowed significantly, showing small pockets of heat along the fireline where crews are working. Today's cooler temperatures and precipitation will help firefighter efforts. Internal pockets and dense understory will continue to smolder and clean up throughout the week.

Smoke

Today, air quality continues to gradually improve as low pressure and associated precip pushes further inland. Coastal areas remain Good to Moderate, including Tillamook, Florence, and Coos Bay. The Willamette Valley is starting to see some relief, as rain showers continue throughout Friday. PM levels will decrease throughout the day. Most of Portland and Salem will remain Unhealthy during the morning and early afternoon hours, improving to USG. Eugene, Albany, and Corvallis will be the first to see relief with Moderate levels. Oakridge levels will bounce between USG and Moderate today. By late Friday evening, much needed widespread relief from smoke will arrive.

Health

If you are experiencing health effects from smoke, you are encouraged to follow the "Actions to Protect Yourself" listed below. Additional recommendations can be found on the Oregon Smoke Blog Stay safe and check current air quality conditions at Smoke and Fire Map.

UPDATE (Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020, 4 p.m.) NEW EVACUATION-LEVEL REDUCTIONS

Effective immediately (Thursday, Sept. 17), the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office in collaboration with the Riverside Fire Incident Management Team SWA Team 1, Clackamas Fire District #1, Molalla Rural Fire Protection District #73, Colton Rural Fire Protection District #70, the Oregon Department of Forestry, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Oregon Department of Transportation is announcing additional reductions to evacuation levels.

Please refer to the Wildfire Evacuation Zones map to see if your area has been changed:
https://ccgis-mapservice.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=fe0525732f1a4f679b75a5ccf1c84b30

Details on level changes:

• All areas west of State Highway 213, as well as additional areas surrounding Oregon City have been returned to “normal” status, with no evacuation level assigned.
• Areas between Molalla and Scotts Mills, and areas northwest of the Unger fire have been reduced to Level 1 “Ready” (green).
• An area northwest of Estacada has been reduced to Level 2 “Set” (yellow).
• Areas encompassing the Dowty Fire, Unger Fire, and Riverside Fire remain at Level 3 “Go” (red).
• The Mt. Hood National Forrest remains under a closure order.

The Sheriff’s Office and the Emergency Operations Center want to caution residents who are returning to their homes to be aware of the following:

• Stay out of Level 3 evacuation areas and respect road closures – Increased traffic in these areas creates additional safety concerns for firefighters and other first responders operating in these areas.
• Monitor your evacuation level area and be “Ready” or “Set” to evacuate if conditions change.
• Be on the lookout for downed powerlines, roadway debris or other hazards.
• Do NOT bring your livestock back to your home at this time.
• Report criminal damage or theft to your home by calling non-emergency dispatch at (503) 655-8211.
• Residents are encouraged to stay inside due to poor air quality. Details: https://www.oregon.gov/deq/aq/Pages/aqi.aspx 
• Conserve water usage.
• Refer to Clackamas County's resource page for additional information: https://www.clackamas.us/wildfires/returning-to-your-home

Riverside Fire Operations Update Video for September 17, 2020 with Planning Operations Trainee Ralph Lucas is now available on the Riverside Fire Information Facebook page at bit.ly/2Rz307R