Updated 10:47 a.m. PDT July 10, 2021
The Bootleg Fire was extremely active again Friday, spreading to the north and east while sending up a very large plume of smoke to the northwest that traveled for hundreds of miles.
The fire was mapped at 10:02 p.m. PDT July 9 which determined it had added 29,000 acres over the previous 24 hours to reach a new total of more than 76,000 acres.
(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Bootleg Fire, including the most recent, click HERE.)
Two Incident Management Teams are assigned, NW Team 10 (Lawson) a Type 2 team, and the Oregon State Fire Marshal Green Team (Lighty).
The fire is 5 miles north of Beatty, 28 miles northeast of Klamath Falls, and 20 miles east of Chiloquin.
Resources assigned include 11 hand crews, 51 fire engines, 2 dozers, 3 water tenders, and no helicopters for a total of 580 personnel.
Mandatory leave-now evacuations are in effect:
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- North of the town of Beatty. North end of Godawa Springs Road north of the rock quarry.
- Near the town of Sprague River. Upper Tableland area north of Oregon Pines Road.
- North of the town of Beatty. Sycan Estates area.
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About 3,000 homes and a major interstate power line are threatened.
8:38 a.m. PDT July 9, 2021
The Bootleg Fire in south-central Oregon more than doubled in size Thursday as it ran for more than 5 miles to the east while Red Flag Warnings were in effect. At 11:07 p.m. Thursday it was 38,892 acres, or 61 square miles.
The fire is 6 miles north of Beatty, 28 miles northeast of Klamath Falls, and 21 miles east of Chiloquin.
Thursday’s fire behavior, described as extreme, led to additional evacuation orders. Areas under a Leave Immediately status at 6:30 p.m. Thursday included “Near the town of Sprague River. Upper Tableland area north of Oregon Pines Road,”, and “North of the town of Beatty. Sycan Estates area.”
Firefighters are seeking opportunities to safely engage the fire and are working on protection measures for private properties.
Thursday evening the resources assigned to the fire included 8 hand crews, 17 fire engines, and 10 helicopters, for a total of 328 personnel.
Thursday afternoon a weather station north of Beatty recorded 10 mph winds generally out of the west gusting at 25 to 35 mph with the temperature around 90 and single-digit relative humidity. The strong wind, very low RH, and dry fuels led to the extreme fire behavior.
The area is under a Heat Advisory Friday. The forecast calls for 93 degrees, relative humidity of 7 percent, and 3 to 8 mph winds out of the south and southwest shifting to come out of the northwest at sunset. The slower wind speeds should result in less fire growth than on Thursday.
The blaze is burning on the Fremont-Winema National Forest and private lands. Northwest Incident Management Team 10 assumed command Thursday morning.
How did it get the name bootleg fire?
Our property in Sycan Forest is less than a mile from the Power Corridor and several of our neighbors spent years building their homes here- water is at a premium, bark beetle has killed thousands of trees and the brush is intensely flammable! With wind and heat this is a very dangerous fire for fire crews on the ground – the fire can run twice as fast as a man rather easily! Prayers for neighbors, friends and firefighters!
Thank you for all work you do. Be safe
How many acres?
Thursday it was 38,892 acres, or 61 square miles.
To those that criticize the efforts on the ground, please don’t. If you weren’t there, you have no idea of the behavior that fire is exhibiting. That forest is full of lodgepole that is already extremely stressed and dog-hair thick. The spots that fire produced grew so fast there was no way to handle it safely.
How many acres was burned strictly because of last night’s huge back burn ?????
How many acres didn’t burn because of it?
X2
Are you on the ground have you seen the fire behavior and fuels?