Special Statement

...Becoming Much Hotter and Drier Today into Late Week... More smoke is possible by Friday depending on fire activity
Fire Smoldering of hotspots around and within the Chilcoot and Cougar fires is responsible for some reduced AQ mainly in
proximity to the fires. Some clouds along with higher humidity has led to reduced natural fire activity this week. Unseasonably hotter and drier conditions are forecast beginning today, and continuing late this week, which could lead to increased fire and smoke potential for the region. Additional details on the fires are available at Tyee Ridge and other fires Inciweb.

UMPQUA, Ore.: La neutralización ha sido la actividad prioritaria de los bomberos durante varios días en Tyee Ridge Complex. Los equipos trabajaron para asegurar el perímetro del incendio al neutralizar focos calientes y delimitando la zona adyacente a las líneas de control como preparación para el cambio del clima que se producirá hoy.

James White, meteorólogo del incidente, afirmó que: “Estamos en el primero de tres días donde se pondrán a prueba las líneas de control. Hoy veremos un cambio en la dirección del viento además de un leve aumento en su velocidad, temperaturas más cálidas y niveles más bajos de humedad”.   

Size: 2,672 acres
Start Date: August 16, 2023
Cause: Lightning
Completion: 48%
Total personnel: 180
Location: 11 miles northeast of Young, Arizona and 27 miles
east of Payson, Arizona
Fuels: Ponderosa Pine, Hardwood litter and timber
Highlights: Crews were able to make good progress as moisture and precipitation remained mostly north of the fire area.
Operations: Yesterday, crews on the northwestern portion of the fire area cleaned up containment lines and looked for alternative containment options to avoid sparse fuel areas. On the eastern portion of the fire area, crews scouted some areas near the 411 road and 512 road intersection, held current lines, and worked on backing fire down some of the ridges. Today, crews will continue with prep work to the northwest, while crews to the east look to bring fire up from the 411 road to meet the backing fire moving south down some of the ridges. Some resources may be rotating out and new resources rotating in over the coming days.
Fire Ecology: When fire heats up leaves or needles on trees, the water in them expands, bursting the cell walls so they can no longer function. This exposes the leaf material to more oxygen causing the leaf material to begin to oxidize, and also allows the water that was in the cells to evaporate. Scorch is sometimes used as a measure for fire severity.
Weather: Yesterday, moisture formed but stayed mostly north of the fire area with a few scattered storms. Today, conditions will be similar as temperatures remain cool and possible scattered storms over the fire area. Moisture is expected to move out Wednesday night as a drying trend begins Thursday with only a slight chance of isolated showers through the weekend.
Closures: An emergency closure order for the Valentine Fire has gone into effect as of 6 a.m. Sept. 5, 2023. The public is asked to avoid the fire area. The purpose of the closure order is to protect public health and safety during the Valentine Fire, and to protect assigned firefighting personnel engaging in wildland firefighting operations. Signs and gates will be in place to remind the public not to enter the fire area. Please visit the Alerts and Notices page for more information. https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/tonto/alerts-notices.
Safety: The health and safety of firefighters, and the public are always the highest priority. Members of the public are asked to avoid the fire area.
Smoke: The fire will produce considerable amount of smoke due excessive fuel accumulation. Smoke from the Valentine Fire may be visible in the surrounding areas for many days. Smoke-sensitive individuals and people with respiratory problems or heart disease are encouraged to take precautionary measures an interactive smoke map at https://www.airnow.gov/wildfires/ allows you to zoom into your area to see the latest smoke conditions.
Information Links and Contacts:
Tonto National Forest https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/tonto/fire
InciWeb https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/aztnf-valentine-fire Fire Email 2023.valentine@firenet.gov
Fire Information Line (928)-421-4579 • Office Hours: 8:00 AM – 8:00PM

Smith River Complex North

Update for Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Size: 86,748 total/ 10,276 in Oregon                                             

Start Date:  Aug 15, 2023

Location: Grants Pass, OR

Containment: 21%

Total personnel: 1,712 for Complex

Cause: Lightning

Resources:
41 crews  
10 helicopters  
75 engines  
14 bulldozers  
26 water tenders  
15 masticators  
2 Skid Steers  
 

Yesterday: There was moderate fire activity in the Taylor Creek drainage with good consumption of fuels and air operations assisted with water drops. Successful firing operations on the northwest side of the fire are nearing conclusion.

Today’s Activities:  Today is a critical fire day with warm temperatures, dry conditions, and gusty northeast winds. Operations will use air support for suppression activities. Starting this afternoon, a Red Flag Warning will be in effect for the area west of the fire. Elevated temperatures and lowered fuel moistures will persist in the fire area with northeast winds. Increased fire activity is anticipated, but fire managers don’t expect a challenge to containment lines.

Road Closures and Delays: Starting tomorrow, Thursday, September 14, US-199 in Del Norte County will have a schedule of road closures and lane restrictions. The Del Norte Sheriff’s Office is asking residents to refrain from any unnecessary travel along that route. If you must travel, please do not follow mapping systems that direct you to leave the US-199 corridor; alternate routes are in a fire closure area creating safety risks to you and fire personnel. Do not use forest roads for alternate routes. For additional information on road conditions, please see the Caltrans QuickMap site https://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/ and Oregon Department of Transportation’s https://www.tripcheck.com/.

Public Meeting: Did you miss the community meeting last night? You can find the recording online on the Smith River Complex North Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/smithrivercomplexnorth/

Evacuations: As of Monday, September 11, the Josephine County Sheriff issued a notice reducing evacuation status to Level 1-BE READY for the community of O'Brien including Takilma, east of US-199 from mile post 39 to the Oregon/California border. Monitor Rogue Valley Emergency Management site and sign up for evacuation alerts and updates at https://rvem.org/. An interactive Fire First Response Map with evacuation areas can also be found there.

Smoke: Clearing skies, high-level haze, and visible smoke columns can be expected from the Smith River Complex today.  Geographic area smoke is being pushed offshore, with nighttime pooling between Cave Junction and O’Brien tonight. Smoke Forecasts are available at https://www.oregonsmoke.org/

Closures: The Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest and Bureau of Land Management Coos Bay District have issued area and road closures for the Smith River Complex. A campfire ban remains in place for BLM and forest lands, and the Wild section of the Rogue River. Visit bit.ly/RRSNFAlerts or https://www.blm.gov/orwafire for additional information.

Restrictions: Please respect the temporary flight restriction (TFR) established for the Smith River Complex. Keep drones away from firefighting operations and the TFR. If you fly, we can’t. Don’t be the reason a firefighting air mission has to divert! For more information on the TFR, visit https://tfr.faa.gov/

UMPQUA, Ore.—For several days mop up has been the focus for firefighters on the Tyee Ridge Complex. They have worked to secure the fire’s perimeter by mopping up hot spots and gridding the area adjacent to control lines in preparation for today’s change in the weather.

“We are in day one of a three-day test of control lines,” said Incident Meteorologist, James White. “Today we will see a shift in wind direction along with a slight increase in wind speed, temperatures will warm, and we will see lower humidities.”

South Fork Complex Update
Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Fire Information: 530-330-5450, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Email: 2023.southforkcomplex@firenet.gov
Linktree: linktr.ee/southforkcomplex2023

3-9 Fire: 2,840 acres with 85% containment
Pellitreau Fire: 3 acres with 100% containment
Pilot Fire: 1,055 acres with 100% containment
Sulphur Fire: 31 acres with 100% containment
3,929 acres and 90% overall containment for the South Fork Complex
A total of 355 personnel, crews, air support, engines, dozers, and water tenders support the incident.

Tomorrow at 7:00 a.m., Nevada Incident Management Team 2 will assume command of the South Fork Complex.

3-9 Fire – Crews continue to work along the 1 Road removing snag hazards and reinforcing the fire line.  The fire continues to show a reduction in heat sources. Suppression repair will continue along the fire perimeter.  Crews are working closely with Resource Advisors from the United States Forest Service to address concerns with tribal, cultural, and natural resources in the area. As suppression repair continues the values at risk will be assessed to ensure there are minimal impacts to the area. Aircraft will be supporting crews on the fire line today removing hose and equipment.

The Pilot Fire is 100% contained. Crews will continue to patrol the fire perimeter while actively engaged in suppression repair.

The Pellitreau Fire and the Sulfur Fire are 100% contained. Firefighters continue to patrol the fires periodically to ensure fire remains within containment lines.

Weather:  The warming and drying trend will set back in over the region due to the high off the west coast shifting back to the west. Temperatures will be in the mid to upper 80s. Relative humidity will decrease today with some areas on the fire seeing humidity in the low 20% range.  Some open locations around the fire could potentially see humidity in the upper teens.

Forest Closure: Forest Closure orders for the South Fork Complex Fire continue to be in effect and are posted on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest and the Six Rivers National Forest websites. Please avoid closed areas.

Lookout/Horse Creek/Pothole/Bedrock Fires

September 13, 2023 - Morning Update

Please join us tonight for a community meeting at the McKenzie High School Gymnasium at 7p.m. The Great Basin Incident Management Team 2 will provide an overview of the fires and answer questions.

Lookout: Total Personnel: 699 | Size: 24,596 acres l Start Date: August 5, 2023 l Cause: Lightning l Containment: 50%

Resources: 27 engines l 12 crews l 5 bulldozers l 24 water tenders l 6 masticators l 4 helicopters l 2 Skidders

While no change in containment occurred on the Lookout Fire, firefighters and heavy equipment stayed focused on primary containment lines on the north side. Patrol and monitoring on the east and south divisions continued at pace. Night operations hauled 36 loads of wood material from the fire’s northside and the White Pine contingency area east of Hwy. 126.

Horse Creek: Total Personnel: 66 |Size: 763 acres l Start Date: August 24, 2023 l Cause: Lightning l Containment: 90%

Resources: 5 engines l 1 crew l 1 bulldozer l 2 water tenders l 1 masticator l 2 Excavators | 3 Skidders

Suppression repairs, followed by patrol and monitoring improved primary containment lines around the fire’s edge. There was no change in containment or any growth of the fire.

Pothole: Total Personnel: 26 |Size: 109 acres l Start Date: August 25, 2023 l Cause: Lightning l Containment: 90% Resources: 1 engine l 1 water tender |1 masticator | 1 skidder

Patrol and monitoring crews continue to hold and secure the southern flank. As this work continues, resources and personnel will be reduced as additional progress is made.

Bedrock: Total Personnel: 165 | Size: 31,590 acres l Start Date: July 22, 2023 l Cause: under investigation l Containment: 90%

Resources: 8 engines l 4 crews l 13 water tenders l 5 masticators l 3 helicopters l 1 skidder

There has been no additional containment and acreage remains unchanged. However, Bedrock suppression and repair teams are continuing to work very closely with Resource Advisors (READ) and other experts to bring past fire suppression activities under control. The goal under suppression repair is to return the affected area to pre-fire conditions as closely as possible.

All Fires:  When travelling Hwy. 126 through Blue River and McKenzie be sure to stop and view the south facing drainages. They reveal a patchy collection of burned and unburned trees. This is a called a mosaic fire pattern. During the Lookout fire, some areas burned very hot while other areas were skipped or had a low-intensity under-burn with no trees killed. 

What evolved was a patchy mosaic of burn, unburned and green section of the landscape. Forest managers say mosaic burns generate habitat diversity, benefiting wildlife and sensitive plant species. For example, once regrowth occurs, mosaic burn patterns offer places for forage, hiding cover and breeding areas.

Weather

Today expect a cool, humid morning. A trough will quickly pass through the Pacific Northwest overnight; followed by increasing temperatures, decreasing humidities, and light easterly flow setting up overnight Wednesday night into Thursday. This will allow for much drier, hotter, and more unstable conditions across the area, with elevated to spotty critical fire weather conditions into the weekend.

Evacuation Update

Linn County Evacuations: For the Lookout and Horse Creek fires, the Linn County Sheriff Offices announced an Evacuation Alert change.

• All LEVEL 1 (BE READY) and LEVEL 2 (BE SET) Evacuation Alert Levels are lifted completely.
• All LEVEL 3 (GO NOW) Evacuation Alerts are downgraded to a LEVEL 1 (BE READY) preparedness level.

For the most specific guidance on evacuation level locations, please refer to the evacuation map located at https://www.facebook.com/LinnSheriff

Lane County Evacuations: The Lane County Sheriff’s Office is lifting the remaining Level 1 (Be Ready) evacuation notices related to the Bedrock Fire.  For the most specific guidance on evacuation level locations, please refer to the evacuation map located at https://www.lanecountyor.gov/cms/one.aspx?pageId=19729054  This resource will describe which areas remain at Level 1 (Be Ready) and Level 2 (Be Set). 

Forest Closures: The closure order for the Lookout Fire was reduced Sept. 7th due to successful firefighting efforts in the Horse Creek and Pothole Fires. Castle Rock Trailhead, Kings Castle Trailhead, McKenzie Bridge Boat Launch and other recreation sites and trailheads are open. Updated closures can be found at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/willamette/alerts-notices/?aid=61574

Restrictions: Fire Restrictions are in place on the Willamette National Forest. Visit the Willamette National Forest  Website to view current forest closures. Temporary Flight Restrictions remain in place over the Bedrock and Lookout fire areas.  

Smoke Outlook: https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook/4c92bc1a The Fire and Smoke Map (fire.airnow.gov) is another source for air quality information.   

Louisiana Statewide Burn Ban:  The State Fire Marshal’s Office’s order prohibiting ALL private burning and the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry ban on all agricultural burning, remain in effect. Open burning with exposed flames is prohibited with no exceptions. The use of prescribed fires is also banned. More information is available at http://sfm.dps.louisiana.gov/doc/press/pr_2023-36.pdf

Highlights: Areas of reburn identified yesterday were within fire containment lines. There is a cold front moving in today that is expected to increase needle cast in containment lines but reduce the potential for reburn. Fire crews will continue to monitor and suppress reburn areas and patrol containment lines, removing any needle cast. Crews will also be working to expand fire containment lines along the fire perimeter. Excess resources from these fires will continue to be reassigned to LDAF for initial attack in the local area.  Those resources remain available to respond to changes in fire activity on existing fires as needed.  

Tiger Island Fire: 31,087 acres, increase in 4 acres | 75% containment | 272 personnel assigned

                Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TigerIslandFire

                Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/lalas-tiger-island-fire

Hwy 113 Fire: 7,124 acres, no change in acreage | 80% containment up from 72% | 102 personnel assigned

                InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/lalas-hwy-113-fire

                Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/113andLionsCamp

Lions Camp Road Fire: 785 acres, no change in acreage| 88% containment | 8 personnel assigned

                InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/lalas-lions-camp-road-fire

                Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/113andLionsCamp

Elizabeth Fire: 940 acres, no change in acreage | 73% containment | 37 personnel assigned

                InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/lalas-elizabeth-fire

                Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethFireLa

Equipment resources assigned to the fires include Type 6 Engines; Dozers; Tractor Plow Units; and Water Tenders. Aerial resources include helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. Additional support is being provided by Parish authorities and departments; Sheriff’s Offices; and the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.

Weather & Fire Behavior: Today will be cloudy with higher humidity around 50%. A weak cold front will move in with scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms that will continue through Friday. Thunderstorms could cause strong erratic winds, increasing the chances of new fire starts. With the increased humidity, there is a reduced potential for reburn today.

Air Quality: Smoke may occur in areas of reburn. Air quality information is available at the EPA’s Fire and Smoke Map at: https://fire.airnow.gov/ .

Temporary Flight Restriction: A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is in place over the Tiger Island Fire and Hwy 113 and Elizabeth Fire areas. If you fly, we can’t. Aircraft or drone intrusions into the restricted airspace endangers aircrews conducting fire operations and aerial resources are grounded for safety. This unnecessarily places aircrews and ground fire crews at risk in a dynamic and dangerous fire environment.

Louisiana Statewide Burn Ban:  The State Fire Marshal’s Office’s order prohibiting ALL private burning and the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry ban on all agricultural burning, remain in effect. Open burning with exposed flames is prohibited with no exceptions. The use of prescribed fires is also banned. More information is available at http://sfm.dps.louisiana.gov/doc/press/pr_2023-36.pdf

Highlights: Areas of reburn identified yesterday were within fire containment lines. There is a cold front moving in today that is expected to increase needle cast in containment lines but reduce the potential for reburn. Fire crews will continue to monitor and suppress reburn areas and patrol containment lines, removing any needle cast. Crews will also be working to expand fire containment lines along the fire perimeter. Excess resources from these fires will continue to be reassigned to LDAF for initial attack in the local area.  Those resources remain available to respond to changes in fire activity on existing fires as needed.  

Tiger Island Fire: 31,087 acres, increase in 4 acres | 75% containment | 272 personnel assigned

                Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TigerIslandFire

                Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/lalas-tiger-island-fire

Hwy 113 Fire: 7,124 acres, no change in acreage | 80% containment up from 72% | 102 personnel assigned

                InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/lalas-hwy-113-fire

                Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/113andLionsCamp

Lions Camp Road Fire: 785 acres, no change in acreage| 88% containment | 8 personnel assigned

                InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/lalas-lions-camp-road-fire

                Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/113andLionsCamp

Elizabeth Fire: 940 acres, no change in acreage | 73% containment | 37 personnel assigned

                InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/lalas-elizabeth-fire

                Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethFireLa

Equipment resources assigned to the fires include Type 6 Engines; Dozers; Tractor Plow Units; and Water Tenders. Aerial resources include helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. Additional support is being provided by Parish authorities and departments; Sheriff’s Offices; and the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.

Weather & Fire Behavior: Today will be cloudy with higher humidity around 50%. A weak cold front will move in with scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms that will continue through Friday. Thunderstorms could cause strong erratic winds, increasing the chances of new fire starts. With the increased humidity, there is a reduced potential for reburn today.

Air Quality: Smoke may occur in areas of reburn. Air quality information is available at the EPA’s Fire and Smoke Map at: https://fire.airnow.gov/ .

Temporary Flight Restriction: A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is in place over the Tiger Island Fire and Hwy 113 and Elizabeth Fire areas. If you fly, we can’t. Aircraft or drone intrusions into the restricted airspace endangers aircrews conducting fire operations and aerial resources are grounded for safety. This unnecessarily places aircrews and ground fire crews at risk in a dynamic and dangerous fire environment.

Louisiana Statewide Burn Ban:  The State Fire Marshal’s Office’s order prohibiting ALL private burning and the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry ban on all agricultural burning, remain in effect. Open burning with exposed flames is prohibited with no exceptions. The use of prescribed fires is also banned. More information is available at http://sfm.dps.louisiana.gov/doc/press/pr_2023-36.pdf

Highlights: Areas of reburn identified yesterday were within fire containment lines. There is a cold front moving in today that is expected to increase needle cast in containment lines but reduce the potential for reburn. Fire crews will continue to monitor and suppress reburn areas and patrol containment lines, removing any needle cast. Crews will also be working to expand fire containment lines along the fire perimeter. Excess resources from these fires will continue to be reassigned to LDAF for initial attack in the local area.  Those resources remain available to respond to changes in fire activity on existing fires as needed.  

Tiger Island Fire: 31,087 acres, increase in 4 acres | 75% containment | 272 personnel assigned

                Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TigerIslandFire

                Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/lalas-tiger-island-fire

Hwy 113 Fire: 7,124 acres, no change in acreage | 80% containment up from 72% | 102 personnel assigned

                InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/lalas-hwy-113-fire

                Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/113andLionsCamp

Lions Camp Road Fire: 785 acres, no change in acreage| 88% containment | 8 personnel assigned

                InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/lalas-lions-camp-road-fire

                Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/113andLionsCamp

Elizabeth Fire: 940 acres, no change in acreage | 73% containment | 37 personnel assigned

                InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/lalas-elizabeth-fire

                Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethFireLa

Equipment resources assigned to the fires include Type 6 Engines; Dozers; Tractor Plow Units; and Water Tenders. Aerial resources include helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. Additional support is being provided by Parish authorities and departments; Sheriff’s Offices; and the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.

Weather & Fire Behavior: Today will be cloudy with higher humidity around 50%. A weak cold front will move in with scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms that will continue through Friday. Thunderstorms could cause strong erratic winds, increasing the chances of new fire starts. With the increased humidity, there is a reduced potential for reburn today.

Air Quality: Smoke may occur in areas of reburn. Air quality information is available at the EPA’s Fire and Smoke Map at: https://fire.airnow.gov/ .

Temporary Flight Restriction: A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is in place over the Tiger Island Fire and Hwy 113 and Elizabeth Fire areas. If you fly, we can’t. Aircraft or drone intrusions into the restricted airspace endangers aircrews conducting fire operations and aerial resources are grounded for safety. This unnecessarily places aircrews and ground fire crews at risk in a dynamic and dangerous fire environment.