8/10/2015 Collier Butte AM Fire Update

Collier Butte Fire – Gold Beach, OregonFire Location: Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest
Incident Commander: Doug Johnson
Information Center – 541-247-4447
Inciweb: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4461
Email: Collierbuttefire@gmail.com
Facebook: U.S. Forest Service-Rogue River - Siskiyou National Forest
There will be a Community Meeting to provide information about the Collier Butte Fire on Monday, August 10 (tonight)at 6 pm. The meeting will be held in Showcase Hall at the Curry County Fairgrounds, 29352 Ellensburg Avenue in Gold Beach. An additional meeting will be held in Brookings Tuesday night at a location to be determined. More Information will follow.Last night’s Infrared flight showed the Collier Butte Fire burning 2,788 acres, in the northwest portion of the Kalmiopsis Wilderness and remote Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest System lands. The fire is 5% contained. Limited road access, steep terrain, tall brush and large standing dead trees (snags) continue to pose challenges to firefighter safety and guide management tactics used to fully contain the wildfire.

Relative humidity decreased overnight and may cause more fire activity earlier in the day. A Red Flag warning has been issued to the East of the fire due to expected thunderstorms. The predicted weather activity will be monitored for potential effects to the Collier Butte fire.
Fire activity is expected to push to the north today due to southerly winds and alignment with terrain. The southern portion of the fire will push the fire back onto itself due to those winds. The eastern side of the fire should continue to have moderate activity.
Firefighters will to use both direct and indirect tactics to contain the fire. Dozers and handcrews continue to make great progress in fireline construction. Existing roads have been reopened with dozers and some will serve as containment lines. Crews continue to remove brush to reduce the fuels along these roads. The road improvements and brush removal is in preparation for an eventual burnout operation to strengthen the fire line.
Communication infrastructure and the Snow Camp Lookout, currently wrapped in fire-resistant foil, will be protected. The strategy is to keep the fire west of the Illinois River and minimize impacts to habitat, watersheds, wilderness qualities, and threatened and endangered species.

Natural resources at risk from the Collier Butte Fire include: critical Coho Salmon habitat, Northern Spotted Owl habitat, Marbled Murrelet habitat, and wilderness values. Resource advisors are readily available to identify areas with sensitive plants, animals, and cultural resources, in order to help protect these valuable natural resources during the fire suppression effort.

 

Also at risk is the spread of Port Orford Cedar root rot disease that is present on the Forest. Resource advisors are providing specific measures to mitigate the spread of this disease by treating potentially contaminated water with bleach. An additional measure to reduce the spread of the root rot disease and invasive plant species to lands in and around the fire include implementing a "weed wash station" to clean vehicles going to and from the Forest.
Communities and businesses along the south coast and the Rogue River remain open and welcome the public. Residents and visitors are encouraged to drive carefully as firefighter traffic in the area has increased. Residents along Hunter Creek Road, the main access route to the fire, will also see an increase in fire traffic. Driving sight distance on roads in the fire area access is very limited with sharp corners and few turnouts on narrow roads. Helicopter operations are based in Agness.
Smoke from the Collier Butte Fire and northern California wildfires may be visible along the south coast. Detailed air quality information can be found on Oregon Smoke at http://OregonSmoke.BlogSpot.com.
Closures:The Curry County Fairgrounds and the Day Use Area behind the fairgrounds are temporarily closed to public access. The facilities are currently being used as an Incident Command Post for the Collier Butte Fire.
The Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest has implemented an Emergency Road and Area Closure for Public Health and Safety. This closure is effective as of August 7, 2015. Specific information for the closure is available on the Collier Butte Inciweb site listed above.
For information on other fires and closures on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest please see the Facebook page listed above.

Start Date - August 2, 2015

Location - 18 miles east of Gold Beach on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest.

Size – 2,788 acres

Containment – 5%

Cause - Lightning

Resources – 14 Crews, 6 Helicopters , 10 Engines, 3 Dozers, 4 Heavy Equipment, 10 Water Tenders

Total Personnel - 570

Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR): A TFR is in place over the Collier Butte Fire. Please check the NOTAMs for current information.