Klondike Fire Archives - Wildfire Today

Southwest Oregon and Northwest California — a hotbed of fire activity for at least 20 years

Bill GabbertSeptember 17, 2020September 17, 2020WildfireBiscuit Fire, California, Chetco Bar Fire, Klondike Fire, Oregon, Slater Fire, Taylor Creek Fire11 Comments

map history of fires in Northwest California and Southwest Oregon — A partial history of fires in Northwest California and Southwest Oregon, 2000 through Sept 17, 2020.

The Northwest California/Southwest Oregon area has kept firefighters very busy at times during the last 20 years, as you can see on the map above.

A new fire is rapidly putting itself into that history. The Slater Fire reported September 8 grew to 89,000 acres by September 9 and has now spread to 150,000 acres. That growth, however, has slowed in the last several days.

It started northeast of Happy Camp, California and ran north into Oregon then took a left and crossed Highway 199. It has come to within about four miles of the 2002 Biscuit Fire.

If recent fire history is any indication, the Slater Fire may not even slow down when and if it reaches the Biscuit burn, and of course it depends on the weather, which has moderated this week. The 2017 Chetco Bar Fire and the 2018 Klondike Fire burned for miles into the then 17 or 18-year old fire scar. The entire eastern two-thirds of the Chetco Bar Fire was in the footprint.

Strong winds that drove the dozens of fires September 8 in Oregon are not super rare. The Klondike Fire west of Grants Pass started July 15, 2018. In early October it had become virtually dormant, but a few hot spots were revitalized by an east wind event on the 14^th. According to an article in the Mail Tribune the suddenly vigorous fire was transporting burning embers that started spot fires six miles out ahead of the flaming front:

“Extreme spotting” propelled fine embers up to six miles ahead of the main fire, dropping the live ash right between firefighters’ tents and close to people’s homes.

“We even had to move our own fire camp,” [information officer Kale] Casey said.

So if the weather this year is anything like it was two years ago, firefighters could be busy in the area for at least another month.

A year ago thunderstorms ignited more than 100 wildfires in Oregon

Bill GabbertJuly 16, 2019September 17, 2020UncategorizedKlondike Fire, Oregon1 Comment

map fires oregon california — This natural-color satellite image was collected on July 18, **2018**. Actively burning areas are outlined in red. NASA image courtesy NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS) project.

About this time last year on July 15 a lightning storm swept across Oregon that ignited more than 100 fires according to the U.S. Forest Service.

An article at News10 looks back on what it was like at that time. Below is an excerpt:

…Oregon Department of Forestry called in all resources possible. New fire starts popped up every two minutes for hours, according to [Chris] James, [Detection Center Lead at Oregon Department of Forestry].

[Marcus] Havinear, [a 10-year veteran firefighter with the Oregon Department of Forestry], started his shift early that Sunday morning. Typically firefighters in the thick of fire season will work 12-hour shifts and get replaced by fresh firefighters. This shift lasted 27 hours. Havinear did not leave his post until 11 a.m. the next day.

Inside the dispatch center for ODF, it was a similar story. Normally, five dispatchers rotate through calls, but when fire season hit last year everyone got called in for the agency.

“As you’re getting those calls, you’re trying to allocate your resources as best you can and order more resources as best you can as the calls keep coming in,” Teresa Burkhart, the lead dispatcher for ODF, said.

ODF personnel spotting smoke like James saw 56 different clouds of smoke on their cameras at the exact same time – something James has never seen before.

“92 smokes that we reported over that three day period,” James said. “31 of those were first detection by us.”

Three months later the Klondike fire was still active. During a major run in mid-October it spotted six miles ahead, dropping burning embers between firefighters’ tents in fire camp, forcing a relocation of the incident command post.

On July 15th, 2018, #FireSeason truly started in southern Oregon. A lightning storm ripped through the area, sparking 100+ fires across @RRSNF, @swofire and @BLMOregon land. @MikeMarutKTVL met with ODF and USFS personnel to talk about that day. More to this on @KTVL tonight. pic.twitter.com/prKors1XfC

— News 10 (@KTVL) July 14, 2019

Report of “extreme spotting” 6 miles ahead of Klondike Fire

Bill GabbertOctober 17, 2018October 17, 2018UncategorizedKlondike Fire, Oregon3 Comments

(Originally published at 5:34 a.m. PDT October 17, 2018)

Typically by mid-October firefighting agencies in Oregon have downsized their ranks of seasonal firefighters and are preparing to enter winter mode. But the Klondike Fire west of Grants Pass, after being dormant for weeks, exploded back to life on October 14 and in a big way. Within a matter of hours it burned an additional 4,968 acres to bring the total up to 172,287 acres.

According to an article in the Mail Tribune it was transporting burning embers into the atmosphere that started fires six miles out ahead of the flaming front:

“Extreme spotting” propelled fine embers up to six miles ahead of the main fire, dropping the live ash right between firefighters’ tents and close to people’s homes.

“We even had to move our own fire camp,” [information officer Kale] Casey said.

The map below shows spot fires detected by an infrared mapping flight.

map Klondike Fire — The red line on the map was the perimeter of the Klondike Fire at 9 p.m. October 15, 2018. The white line shows where the perimeter was before the October 14-15 additional growth. Click to enlarge.

The Incident Management Team posted an update on Tuesday October 16:

Fire personnel focused all efforts to ensure that Sunday’s wind driven spot fires did not damage any of the homes in the Oak Flats, Spud Road and Agness area. Fire managers estimate that the weekend wind event resulted in approximately 5,000 acres of new growth to the west of the primary containment lines. Level 3 evacuations remain in effect for these areas while fire crews and engines work to construct and link together new and existing containment lines.

The Oregon State Fire Marshal’s five structural task forces that arrived yesterday have split into day and night shifts to ensure that all homes under evacuation are protected. These resources include twenty engines and five water tenders with firefighters from thirty-three different fire agencies from across the state.

Fire behavior moderated significantly yesterday as the 30 mph winds over the weekend diminished significantly, allowing fire firefighters to attack spot fires directly. Containing the remaining spot fires east and west of the Illinois River and west of the 3577 Road is the primary objective for all fire personnel.

Warm, dry, breezy weather awakens Klondike Fire in Southwest Oregon

Bill GabbertOctober 15, 2018August 25, 2019UncategorizedKlondike Fire, Oregon

After being relatively quiet for weeks the fire jumped firelines Sunday requiring evacuations in Agness

(UPDATED at 5:10 a.m. PDT October 16, 2018)

The map of the Klondike Fire above is a result of mapping by a fixed wing aircraft at 9 p.m. PDT October 15. The new growth on October 14 and 15 added another 4,968 acres to bring the total up to 172,287 acres.

The weather forecast for the fire area on Tuesday (Agness, OR) predicts a high temperature around 80, relative humidity in the teens, and 5 mph east to northeast winds. The area is not under a Red Flag Warning.

A satellite photo taken October 15 showing heat (the red dots) and smoke on the Klondike Fire in southwest Oregon.

The Klondike Fire had been quiet for weeks until warm, dry, breezy weather on Sunday brought it back to life, burning thousands of acres outside the firelines and requiring evacuations in the small town of Agness 20 miles northeast of Gold Beach, Oregon. The Sheriff’s Office in concurrence with fire officials made the determination that evacuations were appropriate for residents north of the Rogue River and in the areas of Oak Flat, Spud Road, and along the 33 road in Agness.

Incident Management Teams had released 171 fire personnel over the last seven days, to bring the total down to 316. The 167,423-acre fire had not increased in size for over a week. Approximately 250 additional resources have been requested, including aircraft, engines, and Type 1 Interagency Hotshot Crews (IHC). Northwest Incident Management Team 7 (NWIMT7) assumed command of the October 14, 2018 at 8:00 p.m.

The Oregon Governor has declared the Klondike Fire to be a “conflagration”which allows the State Fire Marshal to mobilize firefighters and equipment to assist local crews.

At 2 p.m. Monday afternoon a weather station near Agness recorded 73 degrees, 10 percent relative humidity, and 2 mph SSE winds. The maximum wind gust over the previous 24 hours was 20 mph Sunday evening.

Our very unofficial analysis of Sunday’s activity indicates that approximately 4,500 additional acres burned on the northwest side of the fire east of Agness. Firefighters have requested a Monday night infrared mapping flight to get a more accurate assessment.

It’s not over yet. @OregonGovBrown has declared the #KlondikeFire, burning near #Agness, a conflagration.

Evacuation orders here: https://t.co/SI71JVmkxY#OregonWildfires #OregonSmoke #Conflagration pic.twitter.com/2BDM1BLztC

— Mail Tribune (@mailtribune) October 15, 2018

Fires grow in Oregon and Northern California

Bill GabbertAugust 21, 2018September 17, 2020UncategorizedCalifornia, Klondike Fire, Oregon1 Comment

Above: This natural-color satellite image was collected on July 18, 2018. Actively burning areas, detected by thermal bands, are outlined in red. NASA image courtesy NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS) project.

By Lynn Jenner, NASA

In Oregon there are 15 large ongoing fires and 231,278 acres have been burned as of August 20, 2018. The satellite image above shows several of the larger fires in both Oregon as well as California. California has 10 large fires including the two largest to date, the Ferguson fire and the Mendocino Complex. California has seen 716,276 acres burned this year.

In Oregon, the Taylor Creek and Klondike Fires are burning in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. Both fires were started by lightning on July 15. These two fires were split into zones on Saturday, Aug. 18. The fires are now referred to as “Taylor Creek and Klondike East Fires,” managed by the Alaska Incident Management Team and the “Klondike West Fire” which is managed by California Interagency Incident Management Team 4. California Interagency was called in to continue with the aggressive fight to fully suppress the fire. That will allow the Alaska Incident Management Team to focus its effort on controlling the southeast corner of the fire that is directly threatening the communities of Selma and Cave Junction. As of the morning of Aug. 20, the Taylor Creek Fire is estimated 52,588 acres and is 79 percent contained. The Klondike Fire is estimated at 72,074 acres and is 28 percent contained.

The Miles Fire is the new name for the fire previously named the Sugar Pine. The Miles Fire and Sugar Pine fire have merged. On Sunday July 15, lightning started hundreds of fires across Southwest Oregon. The Miles fire has currently affected 47,015 and is 38% contained at present. Today some instability will swing into the area with the threat of some isolated showers or a thunderstorm. Continued smoke in the valleys will moderate daytime temperatures but will also continue to affect air quality for local communities.

The Watson Creek fire is currently burning on the Paisley Ranger District of the Fremont-Winema National Forest. It was discovered Wednesday, August 15 at 2:15 p.m. The fire is currently burning in heavy fuels, primarily dead and down lodge pole pine. This fire has burned 25,778 acres. The cause of the blaze is under investigation.

In California, right on the Oregon/California line between Happy Camp, CA and Cave Junction, OR is the Natchez fire which has been burning since lightning struck on July 15, 2018. The 697 personnel assigned to the incident are working to implement suppression actions that will most effectively and safely limit fire growth. Currently 20,275 acres have burned and the fire is 70% contained. Fire area closures are in place on the Rogue River-Siskiyou and Klamath National Forests.

The Stone fire began on August 15 with a lightning strike. The current fire size 22,610 acres. Weather concerns for this fire include extremely dry conditions and low humidity. The fire was active last night and fire crews made great progress along the fire edge to control the fire spread and provide structure defense.