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Wildfire Today

Tag: Oregon

MAFFS units called up to help fight fires in northwest

Author BillPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , ,

Two C-130s carrying Modular Airborne Firefighting Systems, which hold up to 3,000 gallons of retardant each, have been called up to help fight fires in Washington state and Oregon.

Read more about the MAFFS at Fire Aviation. 

Smoke from Washington, Oregon fires covers North America

Author BillPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , 6 Comments on Smoke from Washington, Oregon fires covers North America

Screen Shot 2014-07-18 at 3.58.38 PM

The National Oceanic and Atmosopheric Administration’s Fire Detection Map is showing smoke from Western fires blanketing most of North America. Check out the map in real time here. 

To see the most current smoke reports on Wildfire Today, visit the articles tagged “smoke” at https://wildfiretoday.com/tag/smoke/

Washington, Oregon fires burn out of control, destroying homes

Author BillPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , , ,

WA-OR fires, 2014-07-17 at 10.41.21 PM

Many wildfires in Oregon and Washington state are burning out of control this week, as both states have been issued almost daily fire weather warnings. Here’s a wrap up of some of the major fires burning in both states:

Chiwaukum Creek Fire: Ignited by lightning on Tuesday, this rapidly spreading wildfire had consumed 6,630 acres by Friday morning, and forced nearly 900 residents near Leavenworth, Washington to evacuate this week. The fire forced the shutdown of several miles of U.S. Highway 2.

The fire is part of the Mills Canyon Complex, which includes the Mills Canyon Fire, burning near Entiat and now at 22,571 acres, and the Kelly Mountain Fire, also near Entiat, which has burned between 60 and 80 acres.

 

Meanwhile, the Carlton Complex  in the Wenatchee National Forest in Washington has forced all residents of the small town of Pateros to evacuate. One of the complex’s four fires has already destroyed many homes and made a run that, by Friday morning, put the fire’s size at 260 square miles, The Associated Press reported. That’s about 167,000 acres. Reports vary as to how many homes the fire has destroyed, but the latest estimate seems to be at least 100. 

All of the Carlton Complex fires were ignited by lightning on July 14: Stokes Fire, Gold Hikes Fire, French Creek Fire and the Cougar Flat fire. The Stokes Fire and the Gold Hikes fire have merged into one fire, according to Inciweb.   

 

There are currently 14 major fires burning in Oregon. The Moccasin Hill Fire has destroyed an unknown number of homes–at last count, officials said that 33 had been destroyed. Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber has declared a state of emergency. 

 

Moccasin Hill Fire more destructive than initial estimates

Author BillPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags ,

When it burned through a rural southern Oregon subdivision on Sunday, the Moccasin Hill fire destroyed many more homes than fire officials initially reported.

Officials announced Wednesday that the fire destroyed 33 structures, up from the initial estimate of 20.

The Moccasin Hill fire ignited on Sunday, and prompted hundreds of people to evacuate from a rural subdivision outside of Sprague River, Eugene-based TV station KVAL reported Wednesday. As the fire spread rapidly over the weekend, officials first estimated that it destroyed six homes and 14 outbuildings.

But on Wednesday officials discovered an additional 17 destroyed homes, and some 16 destroyed outbuildings within the subdivision.

 


The structures were all damaged on Sunday, when the fire first broke out. As of Wednesday, the fire had burned 2,500 acres. Crews have established a full containment line around the fire but are working toward the center to put out hot spots.

The cause of this fire is still under investigation.

Oregon, like much of the West Coast, has been drought-stricken for months. The U.S. Drought Monitor shows that Klamath County, the Moccasin Hill fire is burning, is almost entirely in a severe drought.

As we reported on Tuesday,  more than 100 wildfires ignited in an Oregon lightning storm on Sunday.

Oregon: Moccasin Hill Fire

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , 2 Comments on Oregon: Moccasin Hill Fire

A fire 24 miles northeast of Klamath Falls, Oregon (see the map below) burned approximately 20 structures and 2,900 acres by 1 a.m. on Monday, according to reports from the National Interagency Fire Center and the South Central Oregon Fire Management Partnership. The Moccasin Hill Fire, reported at 1:15 p.m. on Sunday, has forced the evacuation of about 100 residents.

Sunday night the resources assigned to the fire included 10 engines, 3 crews, 3 dozers, 1 water tender, one single engine air tanker, five helicopters, three heavy air tankers, one very large air tanker, one lead plane and one air attack. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

map of Moccasin River Fire
Map showing the location of the Moccasin Hill Fire at 2:44 a.m. PDT, July 14, 2014. The red squares represent heat detected by a satellite. (click to see larger version)

Oregon: Bryant Fire, south of Bonanza

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , 1 Comment on Oregon: Bryant Fire, south of Bonanza

(UPDATE at 1:23 p.m. PT, June 22, 2014)

From the Oregon Department of Forestry Sunday morning:

Yesterday’s heavy use of air retardant helped prevent the fire from spreading beyond the control lines. Sixteen loads of retardant were dropped from large air tankers and eight loads were dropped from small Single Engine Air Tankers known as SEATs. Helicopters were extremely busy all day long responding to fire fighters requests for drops on the hottest spots. Today, helicopters will continue dropping water along the southwest side of the fire.

With almost ten miles of fire line around the perimeter of this fire, fire fighters are laying hose and fittings for the next phase of holding the line and beginning mop-up on the cooler portions of the fire. The fire had slight growth due to the fire burning up to the control lines the fire fighters had established. Fire fighters continue to work diligently to stop the fire from spreading southward. A small amount of line remains to be constructed there.

They are calling it 1,327 acres and 15 percent contained.

****

(UPDATED at 7:55 a.m. PT, June 22, 2014)

Map of Bryant Fire, at 9 pm, June 21, 2014
Map of the Bryant Fire. The red line was the perimeter at 9 p.m., June 21, 2014 The red line is from 24 hours earlier, on Friday night.

Very little new information is available about the Bryant Fire, burning in southern Oregon 25 miles southeast of Klamath Falls. When it was mapped Saturday night the size was estimated at about 1,260 acres.

****

(UPDATED at 7:33 a.m. PT, June 21, 2014)

3D Map of Bryant Fire
3D Map of Bryant Fire, looking west at 11 pm, June 20, 2014. (click to enlarge)

The Bryant Fire south of Bonanza and southeast of Klamath Falls, Oregon was mapped at 1,300 acres late Friday night while the fire was very actively burning. It started Thursday afternoon on privately owned land in an active logging operation in felled and bucked timber on steep terrain. An Oregon Department of Forestry Type 2 incident management team assumed command Friday evening.

Map of Bryant Fire, at 11 pm, June 20, 2014
Map of Bryant Fire, at 11 pm, June 20, 2014. The white line near the bottom is the California/Oregon border.

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Bryant Fire at 3:45 p.m. PT, June 20, 2014
The red and yellow squares represent heat detected on the Bryant Fire in southern Oregon by a satellite at 3:45 p.m. PT, June 20, 2014. The locations of the squares are accurate to within about a mile. (click to enlarge)

The Bryant Fire in southern Oregon was reported at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, 10 miles south of Bonanza, 25 miles southeast of Klamath Falls, and 3 miles north of the California border. (See the map above.) Friday morning it had burned 836 acres, but there is an unofficial report Friday evening that the ODF said it has doubled to about 1,600 acres, all on privately owned land.

Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) Incident Management Team 1, with Incident Commander John Buckman, will assume command of the fire Friday at 6 p.m.