Sunset over the Corner Creek Fire

Corner Creek Fire July 3, 2015
The Corner Creek Fire continues to burn under an inversion, July 3, 2015. Photo: Oregon Department of Forestry.

And the next day, July 4, we see the Operations Section Chief on the Corner Creek fire briefing firefighters:

Ops Ch Corner Creek Fire July 4
Operations Section chief briefs firefighters on July 4, 2015. Photo by Oregon Department of Forestry.

More information about the Corner Creek Fire, 9 air miles south of Dayville, Oregon.

Oregon: Corner Creek Fire

(UPDATE at 8:40 a.m. PT, July 5, 2015)

map Corner Creek Fire
3-D map of the perimeter of the Corner Creek Fire at 1 a.m. PT July 5 (in red) compared to the perimeter about 48 hours earlier (in white). Looking north. (click to enlarge)

Over the last two days the Corner Creek Fire in central Oregon has continued to spread on the south and west sides and has blackened approximately 27,000 acres.

Here is an excerpt from the incident management team’s description of the activity on Saturday:

On Saturday, winds on the Corner Creek Fire pushed the blaze against firelines being built along its south and west flanks, prompting swift action from helicopters and air tankers. Cooling water and retardant dropped from the aircraft helped firefighters to keep fire growth to a minimum.

 

Air ops works hard to contain the #cornercreekfire. Thanks Matt Hoehna for sharing. #orfire #fireseason2015 @wildland_firefighters

A video posted by Oregon Department of Forestry (@oregondeptforestry) on

**** (UPDATE at 9 a.m. PT, July 4, 2015)

Corner Creek Fire July 3, 2015
The Corner Creek Fire continues to burn under an inversion, July 3, 2015. Photo: Oregon Department of Forestry.

The Corner Creek Fire 9 air miles miles south of Dayville, Oregon continued to grow Friday to the south and northwest. Extremely hot and dry weather conditions are causing the fire to run, spot, and torch into timber and rangeland. Firefighters continue to work to protect structures near the fire and prevent it from crossing onto the east side of the South Fork John Day River. The area is under a Red Flag Warning on Saturday for gusty winds and low relative humidities. A weather forecast for the fire area on Saturday calls for a high temperature in the high 90s, relative humidity around 10 percent, and 5 to 10 mph winds out of the northwest. The weather on Sunday should be about the same. **** (UPDATE at 9:45 a.m. PT, July 3, 2015)

Corner Creek Fire
Corner Creek Fire. Oregon Dept of Forestry photo.

The Corner Creek Fire in Central Oregon grew by more than 6,000 acres on Thursday to 19,232 acres. It was most active on the south

mapCorner Creek Fire
Map showing the perimeter of the Corner Creek Fire at 10 p.m. PT, July 2, 2015 (in red). The perimeter from 24 hours before is in white.

and west sides and progressed an additional three miles to the southwest. On the west side it is near the Turnpike and Upper Bronco Reservoirs. The fire still has not crossed the South Fork John Day River on the east side. Firefighters are protecting structures and looking for opportunities to control the fire spread, including clearing fuels near forest roads to the south and west which may be used as fire lines for burnout operations. The area will be under a Red Flag Warning from noon Saturday until 8 p.m. Saturday. The Corner Creek Fire is 9 air miles miles south of Dayville, 29 miles southwest of John Day, and 85 miles northeast of Bend. **** (UPDATED at 11:05 a.m. PT, July 2, 2015)

map Corner Creek Fire
Map of the Corner Creek Fire, showing (in red) the perimeter at 11 p.m. PT, July 1, 2015. The perimeter from 24 hours before is in yellow. (click to enlarge)

The Corner Creek Fire in central Oregon more than doubled in size in 24 hours. Late Wednesday night it was mapped at about 12,700 acres. The fire moved east to the South Fork of the John Day River but did not cross it, yet, and it spread about five miles to the southwest. Very little information about the fire has been made public by Buckman’s Oregon Department of Forestry Team 1. But, the term “extreme fire behavior” was used in a very brief description released by the Northwest Coordination Center.

****

(Originally published at 7:23 a.m. PT, July 1, 2015)

Corner Creek Fire
Corner Creek Fire, June 30, 2015. Durgan Ranch photo.

Firefighters have been busy in central Oregon for the last week after the area got hammered by lightning.

The spread of the Sugarloaf Fire, 7 miles north of Dayville, is slowing and some of the resources are being sent to the Corner Creek Fire 16 miles to the south. A satellite still detected some heat on the northeast side of the fire late Tuesday night on the 5,016-acre blaze. The Oregon Department of Forestry’s Incident Management Team 1 is managing this fire plus the 300-acre Blue Basin Fire just to the west along Highway 19.

Corner Creek Fire map 10 pm PT June 30, 2015
Another fire, the 6,300-acre Corner Creek Fire, was added to the Team’s workload Wednesday morning. Located on the west side of the South Fork John Day River, it was reported on June 29, a lightning-caused fire that held over from last week’s storms. High temperatures and low relative humidity yesterday contributed to the growth of the fire. Numerous aviation resources were used Tuesday for structure protection of cabins and outbuildings along Wind Creek, including three large tankers, one very large air tanker (DC-10), four single engine air tankers, and three helicopters.

The Corner Creek Fire is 9 air miles miles south of Dayville, 29 miles southwest of John Day, and 85 miles northeast of Bend.

Sugar Loaf, Blue Basin, and Corner Creek Fires map
Sugar Loaf, Blue Basin, and Corner Creek Fires, 10 p.m. PT, June 30, 2015.