Monday, August 4, 2014

8/3/2014 PM Beaver Complex Update

Beaver Complex Fire Update

Oregon Department of Forestry Team 2- Chris Cline, Incident Commander

Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office Blue Team – Scott Magers, Incident Commander

CAL FIRE – Phill Veneris, Incident Commander

Oregon Fire Information Number: 541-826-1599

California Fire Information Number: 530-842-2266

Hours of operation: 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

August 3, 2014

9:30 p.m.

Special Message: The public is encouraged to use extra precautions when traveling on narrow, fire access roads. Fire engines, bulldozers and tenders will be in the area. At times it may be safest to pull over or stop to allow fire traffic to pass. Use headlights at all times. Roads are narrow, dusty and smoky.

Highway 66 is open. Green Springs can be accessed by the public.

Current Situation:

Oregon Gulch Fire

Fire personnel made excellent progress on the fire. Fire spread was minimal. Firefighters have started line construction on the northeast side of the fire and are working their way from the Jackson/Klamath County line towards the Oregon-California border. Contingency lines are being constructed to follow road systems that prevent fire spread to the north and east.

The Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office have assigned the Incident Management Blue Team and structural task forces to protect homes within the Green Springs Fire District area. Task forces arrived from Lane, Benton and Linn Counties.

Salt Creek Fire

Fire personnel working on the Salt Creek Fire will continue mopping up from the outer perimeter of the fire.

Weather and Fire Behavior: Tonight’s weather for the Oregon Gulch Fire will be similar to last night, with cooler temperatures and rising humidity. Weather for the Salt Creek Fire weather will show little change as well; however, winds will be gusty. On Monday, thunderstorms are expected in the afternoon.

For information on smoke conditions and health effects in California, visit Siskiyou County Pollution Control District (http://tinyurl.com/ljzak8a), the National Interagency Real-Time Smoke Monitoring Network (http://app.airsis.com/usfs/fleet.aspx) or the North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District (http://ncuaqmd.org/).Residents are encouraged to visit the “Protect Yourself from Smoke” website for smoke protection information http://www.cdc.gov/Features/Wildfires/.

Fire Statistics for Salt Creek

Location: 20 miles northwest of Medford, OR Percent Contained: 80%

Size: 155 acres Cause: Lightning

Start Date: 7/30/14

Fire Statistics for Oregon Gulch

Location: 15 miles east of Ashland, OR Percent Contained: 20% Size: 36,568 acres (9,464 acres in California) Cause: Lightning

Start Date: 7/30/14

Oregon Wildland Resources Include: 40 Type 2 hand crews, 6 Camp Crews, 44 engines, 22 dozers, 17 water tenders, and overhead personnel.

California Resources Include: 10 dozers, 20 engines, 4 Type 1 crews, and 3 water tenders.

Air Resources: 14 helicopters and 2 air tankers.

Total Personnel: 1280

Evacuation Orders by County:

Jackson County

There is still a Level One Evacuation for residents living along Highway 66 in Oregon. The addresses include anyone living between the 11,000 and the 22,000 block of Highway 66. This is on the Ashland side and does not impact people living in Keno!

Level One Evacuation means “Be Ready” for a potential evacuation. Residents should be aware of the danger that exists in their area, monitor emergency services websites and local media outlets for information.

Portions of Copco Road remain under a Level 3 Evacuation.

Klamath County

Klamath County Sheriff’s Office issued a Level 3 evacuation order. The order is for the Klamath River canyon from John C. Boyle Dam to the California border. This includes Topsy Grade Road and Picard Road and all other normally accessible roads south of Highway 66 east to the Klamath County line in Oregon.

Siskiyou County

Mandatory evacuations (terminology used by Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office) are in place one mile east of the town of Copco to Beaver Creek only on the north side of Copco Lake. An evacuation center has been established and remains open at the Jackson Street Elementary School located at 405 Jackson Street in Yreka. The evacuation center can also accommodate small animals and livestock.

For the Complex, 270 homes and 50 outbuildings are threatened; 6 homes were destroyed.

Places to get information: