Cedar Creek Fire in Western Oregon triples in size

Cedar Creek Fire 3-D map
Cedar Creek Fire 3-D map looking east at 10:45 p.m. Sept 10, 2022.

The Cedar Creek Fire that started August 1 in west-central Oregon was already very large at 27,512 acres on the morning of Thursday September 8. But as a result of dry, windy weather on the following two days when a mapping aircraft was over the fire at 10 p.m. Saturday it had more than tripled in size to 85,900 acres. That night the blaze was about 5 miles northeast of Oakridge.

Most of the growth was to the west, driven by strong easterly winds and dry fuels. Saturday evening while winds were from the west, firefighters on the western flank completed strategic burning operations near Eagle Butte, 5 miles northeast of Oakridge. The fire remained north of Highway 58, south of Forest Road 19, and east of Eagle Butte.

Cedar Creek Fire map, 10:45 p.m. Sept 10, 2022
Cedar Creek Fire map, 10:45 p.m. Sept 10, 2022.

The incident management team says 2,230 homes and 443 commercial structures remain threatened, but none have been reported as destroyed. The Office of the Oregon State Fire Marshal has committed seven task forces and an incident management team to the incident.

Saturday evening resources committed to the fire included 17 hand crews, 53 engines, and 8 helicopters for a total of 994 personnel. The estimated suppression costs so far are $47 million.

In the satellite photo below the Cedar Fire is producing the smoke seen in the lower portion of the image.

Satellite photo, Bolt Creek and Cedar Creek fires Sept. 10, 2022
Satellite photo, Bolt Creek and Cedar Creek fires Sept. 10, 2022. Processed by Pierre Markuse.

New fire pushes smoke into northwest Washington

The Bolt Creek Fire near Skykomish is growing rapidly

Updated 8:50 a.m. PDT Sept. 11, 2022

Bolt Creek Fire map at 8:21 pm Sept. 10, 2022
Bolt Creek Fire, mapped by a fixed wing aircraft at 8:21 pm Sept. 10, 2022

The Bolt Creek Fire 42 miles north-northeast of Seattle is producing smoke that is moving into Everett and Bellingham. The fire spread eight miles to the northwest after it started Saturday near Skykomish off US Highway 2. So far it has remained north of the highway as it burned past Grotto and Baring. A US Forest Service mapping flight Saturday night determined it had blackened about 7,660 acres and was 3 miles southeast of Index. This data from a fixed wing aircraft is much more accurate than some of the maps being posted on social media.

To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Bolt Creek Fire, including the most recent, click HERE.

An 18-mile corridor of Highway 2 remains closed and evacuations are in effect. Snohomish County has the details.

This kind of wildfire activity is exceptionally rare for the western slopes of the central Cascades in Washington.

Satellite photo, Bolt Creek and Cedar Creek fires Sept. 10, 2022
Satellite photo, Bolt Creek (on the north) and Cedar Creek fires Sept. 10, 2022. Processed by Pierre Markuse.

Two hikers that were on the mountain had a harrowing escape from the fire. They called 911 and were told it was too dangerous to rescue them by helicopter, but eventually after scrambling down steep terrain they made it out of danger. (Update, Sept. 13, 2022: the hikers documented their escape from the fire.)


3:47 p.m. PDT Sept. 10, 2022

Bolt Creek Fire near Skykomish, Washington at 1:54 p.m. PDT September 10, 2022
The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite on the Bolt Creek Fire near Skykomish, Washington at 1:54 p.m. PDT September 10, 2022. The extent of heat displayed may be exaggerated. The fire, at that time, may not have been as large as depicted here.

Several wildfires are pushing smoke into western Oregon and Washington. The Bolt Creek Fire, which started Saturday in northwest Washington near Skykomish off US Highway 2 is growing very quickly. It is producing a great deal of smoke blowing to the northwest toward Everett and Bellingham.

Bolt Creek Fire, September 10, 2022. Washington State DNR.
Bolt Creek Fire, September 10, 2022. Washington State DNR.

Our very, very rough estimate of the size, based on the imprecise satellite heat data, is that the Bolt Creek Fire had burned more than 2,500 acres by 1:54 p.m. PDT Saturday.

Satellite photo showing smoke from fires in Washington and Oregon
Satellite photo showing smoke from fires in Washington and Oregon, 2:21 PDT Sept. 10, 2022.

A section of Highway 2 is closed.

Snohomish County has evacuation information about the Bolt Creek Fire.

A fire south of Mount Rainier National Park, the Goat Rocks Fire, is also producing smoke, but it is heading generally west to the Centralia area. As of Friday it had burned about 1,500 acres.

The smoke from a very large fire that has been burning since August 1 in west-central Oregon, the Cedar Creek Fire, is sending smoke into Washington. The Washington State DNR said today that smoke from that 35,000-acre fire is being lofted to higher altitudes and is not expected to contribute significantly to further reductions in air quality at ground level. It will actually help keep temperatures down a few degrees Saturday afternoon, they said, and limit the minimum relative humidity values experienced in the Puget Lowlands.

Bolt Creek Fire, September 10, 2022. Washington State DNR.
Bolt Creek Fire, September 10, 2022. Washington State DNR.

Firefighters are scouting for potential control lines on the Cedar Creek Fire in Western Oregon

11:20 a.m. PDT August 7, 2022

Cedar Creek Fire, mapped at 3:07 a.m. PDT Aug. 7, 2022
Cedar Creek Fire, looking east at 3:07 a.m. PDT Aug. 7, 2022

The Cedar Creek Fire on the Willamette National Forest in Western Oregon was very active when it was mapped by a fixed wing aircraft at about 10 p.m. Saturday, and also during a satellite overflight at 3 a.m. Sunday. Spot fires were observed 800 feet ahead of the main fire.

It has burned 1,822 acres since it started from a lightning strike August 1, one of 20 to 30 fires ignited by lightning that night. Most of it is burning on a plateau with a steep slope on the south side. The blaze is north of Highway 58, 14 air miles east of Oakridge, and 2 miles west of Waldo Lake.

Cedar Creek Fire, mapped at 3:07 a.m. PDT Aug. 7, 2022
Cedar Creek Fire, mapped at 3:07 a.m. PDT Aug. 7, 2022.

A Type 1 incident management team assumed command on August 5. Since then the team has been scouting for opportunities to safely engage the fire.

Currently there are no evacuations in effect.

Update at 11:57 a.m. PDT August 9 2022.
It turns out that there is a major error in the National Interagency Fire Center fire history database. In the map below we created using their data, the polygon shown as the 68,000-acre 1991 Warner Creek Fire is completely in error and does not exist at that scale or at that location. The polygon that was not identified in the NIFC database that we labeled as “Unknown fire name in the 1990s”, is actually the 8,900-acre Warner Creek Fire of 1991. We regret the error. This is not the first time we have seen gross errors in the NIFC fire history database, especially for Oregon, and causes us to question ever using it again.

Fire history near the Cedar Creek Fire

The 1996 Charlton Fire which burned 9,000 acres is 3 miles to the northeast on the north side of Waldo Lake.

Cedar Creek Fire Oregon 11 a.m. August 6, 2022
Cedar Creek Fire looking north at 11 a.m. August 6, 2022. InciWeb photo.

In the video below recorded Sunday morning, Operations Section Chief Kyle Cannon describes the current situation.

Two fires in Okanogan County Washington have burned a total of 87,000 acres

Cub Creek 2 Fire and Cedar Creek Fire

Cedar Creek Fire, July 18, 2021
Cedar Creek Fire, July 18, 2021. InciWeb.

Two fires in north-central Washington that started the week of July 11 have burned a total of 87,000 acres in Okanogan County. Both are being managed by Type 1 Incident Management Teams. A map of evacuations in effect is at the County’s website. Highway 20 is likely to be closed through the end of July. (Current state highway conditions.) Both blazes are in steep, difficult to access terrain with heavy dead and down fuel loading.

A Smoke Blog has been established to provide information about current and predicted smoke and air quality conditions in Washington.

A heat advisory is in effect for Winthrop Thursday through Saturday for high temperatures near 100 each day. The wind at the city on Thursday and Friday will be generally from the south-southeast at 6 to 8 mph with humidity in the mid-teens. It will be cooler at the fires since Winthrop is at 1,800′ and the terrain on the fires ranges from 2,000′ to over 5,000′. Sunday will bring lower temperatures, humidity around 50 percent, and a 30 percent chance of thundershowers.

Cedar Creek Fire
This lightning-caused fire on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest south of Highway 20, three miles west of Winthrop was mapped July 28 at 35,685 acres. Wednesday it was very active near the head of Little Wolf Creek moving southwest through heavy fuels. It burned past the end of the dozer line that was being built to connect to Thompson Ridge.

The fire is backing down into Little Boulder Creek, Little Falls Creek, and Silver Star Creek.

Map of the Cedar Creek & Cub Creek 2 Fires
Map of the Cedar Creek & Cub Creek 2 Fires. The white lines were the perimeters on July 28. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite at 2:28 a.m. PDT July 29, 2021.

Cub Creek 2 Fire
This fire 5 miles north of Winthrop has burned 52,832 acres on lands protected by Okanogan County Fire District 6, Washington Department of Natural Resources, and the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. The cause is under investigation.

On Wednesday firefighters worked to tie in multiple hand lines, dozer lines, and existing road systems on the western and eastern flanks.  The smoke reduced the potential for significant fire growth, but the hot and dry temperatures allow it to keep burning in the lower drainages. Crews completed a strategic burning operation along Deer Creek and Sweet Grass Butte. With a significant warming trend beginning Thursday, the top priority for crews is to reduce any heat and fuels on the southeastern flank of the fire, especially near Ramsey  and Tripod Creeks.

Quick summary of wildfires in Washington and Oregon

Satellite Photo, wildfires
GOES 17 satellite photo, wildfires, 6:36 p.m. PDT July 18, 2021.

There are at least five large significant wildfires currently burning in Washington and Oregon. Here is a quick and dirty summary. The acreages were as of Saturday evening, but all were putting up large smoke plumes Sunday easily seen from a satellite.

Working north to south, starting in Washington:

Cub Creek 2 Fire
4,690 acres, 5 miles north of Winthrop, Washington. Numerous residences are threatened. Evacuations are in effect, including for pack animals, mules, from the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest who were relocated to their winter pasture.

Mule
A mule from the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest waiting to be evacuated.

The north flank of the Cub Creek 2 remains unchecked. Retardant from very large air tankers, water scooping planes, and helicopters with buckets are providing support to firefighters in all locations of the fire. It is burning north pushed by diurnal winds during the day and smoke pushed down south during the late evening and morning.

Cedar Creek Fire
4,080 acres, 12 air miles northwest of Winthrop, Washington, very close to Highway 20. The western perimeter of the fire has burned onto a ridgeline with sparse fuels, slowing the spread. On the southern portion of the fire, growth has been minimal as it burns in subalpine areas with minimal vegetation. The northeastern portion remains the most active.

Summit Trail Fire
2,031 acres, 17 miles west of Inchelium. It has only been burning for three days. On Saturday crews continued to build direct fire line. There was fire growth on the north-northwest side of the fire, and crews scouted Upper Ridge Creek Road, developing a plan to prep and hold the fire along the road.

Due to limited resources the fire continued to spread Saturday to the  northeast at a moderate rate of spread, but that pace increased Sunday.

And in Oregon:

Jack Fire
16,764 acres, on both sides of Highway 138, 9 miles northwest of Clearwater. South of Highway 138, firefighters continue burnout operations to build primary line on the west and southwest flanks. On the southeast side, crews will continue to use heavy machinery to clear and brush out roads used as control lines.

Bootleg Fire
298,662 acres, 30 miles northeast of Klamath Falls. The Bootleg Fire continued to push further into Lake County for a distance of five miles on the north side and ten on the east side. It remains about four to five miles north of Highway 140. It was extremely active again on Sunday, as can be seen in the satellite photo above.