Lime Fire
Lime Fire
Location: 0.5 mile N of Lime, Baker Co., Oregon
Location: 0.5 mile N of Lime, Baker Co., Oregon
Specific Location: Between Baker City and Ontario 5 mi north of Huntington, adjacent to I-84, Hwy 30, and Burnt River, Lat 44° 24´ 36″ Lon 117° 18´ 37″
Date of Origin: 09/10/2008
Cause: Human
Situation as of 09/11/2008 at 7:30 PM
Personnel: 89
Size: 349 acres
Percent contained: 100%
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Situation as of 09/10/2008 at 7:30 PM
Personnel: 107
Size: 349 acres
Percent contained: 75%
2 structures destroyed
Crews will finish putting line around the fire and mop up 50 ft in today (9/11
Elmore Fire
Location: 5 miles SE of Lakehead, Shasta Co. CA
Specific Location: near Elmore Mtn, Lake Shasta, W of I-5, Lat 40° 50´ 42″ Lon 122° 21´ 48″
Date of origin: 09/07/2008
Cause: under investigation
Situation as of 09/10/08 at 6:00 PM
Personnel: 241
Size: 343 acres
Percent contained: 100%
Costs to Date: $1,400,000
Continue interior mop-up. Back haul hose and equipment. Finish suppression repair work to hand line and dozer lines.
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Situation as of 09/09/08 at 6:00 PM
Personnel: 521
Size: 343 acres
Percent contained: 100%
Costs to Date: $725,000
Evacuations lifted.
Scattered concentrations of heavy fuels continued to burn out. Crews continue to secure and improve containment lines and mop up 300′ in from the perimeters.
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Situation as of 09/09/08 at 8:00 AM
Personnel: 461
Size: 340 acres
Percent contained: 50%
Mandatory evacuations in effect for Salt Creek, Gregory Creek, and Gilman Creek.
Fire spread continued toward Interstate 5 to the east. Head of fire continued spread towards north and northwest. Mandatory evacuations still in place. Limited disruption of railroad today although speed limits of 10 mph were enacted. Fire remained active on eastern flank. Good progress holding fire on southern edge to reduce threat to 60 summer residences. Reduction in acreage due to more accurate mapping.
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Situation as of 09/08/08 at 8:00 AM
Personnel: 168
Size: 450 acres
Percent contained: 15%
Mandatory evacuations in effect for Salt Creek, Gregory Creek, and Gilman Creek.
Fire spread continued through the night as the fire remained active. Railroad traffic now let through on intermittent basis. Can expect full closure again later today as today’s fire behavior expected to increase under southerly flow.
Fire expected to reach Interstate 5 this afternoon. Expect impacts to travel. Dense brush and dry fuels may encourage long range spotting over the Interstate.
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Situation as of 09/07/08 at 8:00 PM
Personnel: 168
Size: 450 acres
Percent contained: 5%
Structures Threatened: 20 residences, 2 commercial buildings
Mandatory evacuations in place for private inholdings at Salt Creek and Gregory Creek.
Slope driven fire pushed by normal westerly flow. Gusts to 11 mph. Fire behavior included long range spotting in dense brush and scattered oak/grey pine.
Major north/south railroad line threatened and closed.
Gulch Fire
Location: 3 Miles west of Platina, Shasta Co. CA
Specific Location: Lat 40° 22´ 0″ Lon 122° 56´ 6″
Date of origin: 09/07/2008
Cause: under investigation
Situation as of 09/11/08 at 6:00 PM
Personnel: 219
Size: 2,847 acres
Percent contained: 100%
Costs to Date: $3,200,000
Highway 36 is open with CAL TRANS escort between Platina and Forest Road 29N02 for hazard tree removal.
Minimal fire behavior was noted today. All Divisions reporting 300’ mop up. It is anticipated that suppression repair will be at or near completion by Friday, 9-12-2008. Transition planning has been initiated with transition to a Type 3 Organization on Friday at 0600. Demobilization of excess resources is ongoing.
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Situation as of 09/10/08 at 6:00 PM
Personnel: 425
Size: 2,847 acres
Percent contained: 90%
Costs to Date: $2,400,000
Effective at 0600 this morning, all evacuation notices for areas surrounding the Gulch Fire have been lifted. Highway 36 is open with CAL TRANS escort between Platina and Forest Road 29N02 for hazard tree removal.
Isolated tree torching and backing fire within interior islands. Fire suppression damage repair has been initiated. Transition planning has been initiated with transition to a Type 3 Organization on Friday at 0600. Demobilization of excess resources is ongoing.
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Situation as of 09/09/08 at 6:00 PM
Personnel: 446
Size: 2,847 acres
Percent contained: 60%
Costs to Date: $600,000
The communities of Wildwood, Platina, and Harrison Gulch remain under an evacuation advisory. Highway 36 is open with CAL TRANS escort between Platina and Forest Road 29N02. Telephone lines are out in the area and electric power is sporadic.
The acreage was reduced after on the ground assessment.
Flanking and backing fire with down-wind runs, group torching and spotting. Crews are making good progress with direct line construction on the NW perimeter. Good progress with improving line and mop up in Divisions A, Z, Y and B [wherever they are].
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Situation as of 09/09/08 at 8:00 AM
Personnel: 359
Size: 2,935 acres
Percent contained: 20%
The communities of Wildwood and Platina remain under an evacuation advisory. The communities of Platina and Harrison Gulch remain threatened by the Gulch Fire. A community meeting will be held in Platina at 1900 last evening.
Highway 36 a main corridor for transportation, commerce and recreation is open with CAL TRANS escort between Platina and Wildwood. Telephone lines are out in the area and electric power is sporadic. Timber values at risk include Late Successional Reserve, the Gimmel Timber Project, and Sierra Pacific Industries lands.
Fire remained active throughout the night operational period. Highway 36 remains open to traffic with CAL TRANS escort. The communities of Platina and Harrison Gulch remain threatened by the Gulch Fire. Significant efforts to reconcile resources at scene and enroute are ongoing. A community meeting will be held in Platina at 1900 this evening.
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Situation as of 09/08/08 at 8:00 AM
Personnel: 197
Size: 2,280 acres
Percent contained: 10%
Fire remained active until early morning. Expect similiar fire behavior today. Communities of Harrison Gulch and Platina continue to be threatened.
Highway 36 remains effected by the fire. Expect closures throughout today.
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Situation as of 09/07/08 at 8:00 PM
Personnel: 197
Size: 2,000 acres
Percent contained: 5%
Structures Threatened: 30 residences, 2 commercial buildings
Communities of Platina and Harrison Gulch under mandatory evacuation. Multiple fire starts with fires established on both the north and south sides of Highway 36. Slope driven fires with long range spotting. Highway 36 closed.
Colony Fire
Location: 7 miles E of Myers Flat, Humboldt Co., CA
Specific Location: S of Eel Rock, Eel River, Colony Rd, Lat 40° 16´ 32″ Lon 123° 44´ 4″
Date of origin: 09/07/2008
Cause: under investigation
Situation as of 09/09/2008 at 6:00 PM
Personnel: 268
Size: 155 acres
Percent contained: 100%
Costs to Date: $350,000
Full containment was reached due to significant change in weather, a deep marine layer that came in last night. Demob of 2 engine and 4 crew strike teams will happen tomorrow morning. Remaining engine strike team and 4 crew strike teams will be assigned for 3 to 4 more days.
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Situation as of 09/09/2008 at 8:00 AM
Personnel: 286
Size: 155 acres
Percent contained: 75%
Structures Threatened: 50 residences
Fire is in a remote location making access difficult. Heavy fuel loading due to firewood and timber harvest operation. Fire burned actively inside containment lines. Spot fires from last night were contained. Dozer line is around the fire. However due to the fuel loading and activity inside the lines, full containment was extended to tomorrow evening. Current success on the incident is due to resources getting into the unit quickly. An Engine Strike Team that was coming into the unit on a pre-position was part of the initial attack.
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Situation as of 09/07/2008 at 6:00 PM
Personnel: 188
Size: 120 acres
Percent contained: 20%
Structures Threatened: 50 residences
Fire made an initial run of 100 acres in the first hour. After aircraft and ground resources got to the scene, the rate of spread slowed.
Deerhorn Fire
Location: 2 mile S of Weitchpec, Humboldt Co. CA
Specific Location: E of Hwy 96 in Bull Creek canyon, trib to the Trinity River, Hoopa Indian Reservation, Lat 41 10 25, Lon 123 40 20
Date of origin: 09/04/2008
Cause: unknown
Situation as of 09/11/2008 at 7:00 AM
Personnel: 145
Size: 386 acres
Percent contained: 90%
Costs to Date: $2,200,000
Smoldering ground fire in isolated hot spots, with torching of heavy fuel concentrations. Steep slopes are limiting access to the isolated hot spots and are hampering their mop-up. High value timber resources are still threatened.
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Situation as of 09/10/2008 at 7:00 PM
Personnel: 386
Size: 383 acres
Percent contained: 90%
Costs to Date: $2,200,000
Smoldering ground fire in isolated hot spots, with torching of heavy fuel concentrations. Steep slopes are limiting access to the isolated hot spots and are hampering their mop-up. High value timber resources are still threatened.
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Situation as of 09/09/2008 at 7:00 PM
Personnel: 386
Size: 363 acres
Percent contained: 70%
Costs to Date: $1,222,001
Crews made significant progress along Bull Creek. Will release a total of five type one Hot Shot crews and one strike team Cal Fire type one handcrew 9-10-08.
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Situation as of 09/09/2008 at 8:00 AM
Personnel: 386
Size: 363 acres
Percent contained: 60%
Expected Containment: 09/09/08
Crews made significant progress and continue to hold Bull Creek. Fire behavior today: backing along control lines.
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Situation as of 09/08/2008 at 8:00 AM
Personnel: 384
Size: 275 acres
Percent contained: 55%
Expected Containment: 09/09/08
The Tribal Council met with the Type 3 Incident Commander Gary Risling and Tribal OES director Rod Mendes to discuss control strategies and alternatives in the event control strategies failed to achieve the desired outcome.
IC Risling now understands and wishes to communicate that ~$109 million in resource value of merchantable timber is in imminent threat. The Bull Creek drainage is also a major watershed that is listed as critical to the tribe for its resource value. The Hoopa Tribe sustains its infrastructure through the sale of timber and other natural resources. The impacts associated with failure to suppress the fire and keep it as small as possible are very significant to the future of the Hoopa Tribe and its people.
The terrain is very steep and rugged with limited opportunity to establish control lines using a direct control strategy. Interagency Hot Shot crews made outstanding progress in establishing an indirect control line from Division C to connect down into Bull Creek.
The S flank of the fire is being held by Bull Creek. The use of helicopters and type 1 crews is critical for the success. Contingency lines are being established while these resources hold the creek.
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Situation as of 09/07/2008 at 9:00 AM
Personnel: 363
Size: 255 acres
Percent contained: 50%
Costs to Date: $750,000
Off Deerhorn Road 9 miles N of Hoopa. Large smoke column. The other fires in the general area (Blue2, Ukonom, Panther) are also putting up smoke columns from interior islands burning. Fire appears to be heading N and E and could overtop ridge and spread into the Klamath River canyon E of Trinity/Klamath confluence.
Hot Shot crews are working with operations to seek opportunities of direct control , utilizing aircraft to support crews. The critical area is between division C and X, which is currently uncontrolled and moving toward the east in the Bull Creek drainage.
Burnside Fire
Location: 6-8 Miles W of Woodfords, Alpine Co. CA
Specific Location: 15 mi S of South Lake Tahoe, Burnside Lake Road, Humboldt-Toiyabe NF, Lat 38° 45´ 29″ Lon 119° 55´ 23″
Date of origin: 08/31/2008 (First official report 09/01)
Cause: Under investigation
3 FATALITIES
On 09/01 an air tanker with three crew aboard crashed upon takeoff from Reno Airport. There were no survivors. Names of the deceased have not been released. See [here].
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Situation as of 09/01/2008 at 10:00 PM
Personnel: 183
Size: 204 acres
Percent contained: 50%
Costs to Date: not updated
Start date corrected to 8/31. Evacuations have been lifted at local resorts, campgrounds and private residences. Fire behavior is less erratic now that the cold front has passed. Progress was made today on the fire due to favorable weather and air support (2 Air Tankers, 4 Helicopters).
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Situation as of 08/31/2008 at 10:00 PM
Personnel: 183
Size: 100 acres
Percent contained: 5%
Costs to Date: $500,000
Structures Threatened: 150 residences , 2 commercial buildings , 10 outbuildings
Advisory evacuations of the Sorenson and Hope Valley Resorts, as well as campgrounds and nearby residences were accomplished. Structure protection is in place in the Resort areas and in residential areas. An emergency evacuation center has been set up at the Diamond Valley School east of Woodfords.
Political sensitivity is a priority with local residents due to the past history of the Acorn Fire.
Note: The Acorn Fire of 1987 burned 6,600 acres and destroyed 24 homes in Woodfords, CA, near the Nevada state line. The federal government later paid $1.7 million to those who lost their homes, acknowledging mistakes were made in fighting the fire. - Ed
Red Flag level gusty and erratic winds caused running and spotting today. A cold front is moving over the area will continue to cause windy conditions tomorrow. Gusty and erratic winds caused short fire runs and crowning. Spotting was observed 75 to 100 feet ahead of the main fire.
Note: The 7/31 start date seems in error. Will check. - Ed
Dunn Mtn. Assist Fire
Location: 30 Miles NE of Billings, MT
Specific Location: Lat 46° 41´ 26″ Lon 108° 20´ 50″
Date of Origin: 08/21/2008
Cause: lightning
Situation as of 09/01/2008 at 4:30 PM
Personnel: 204
Size: 102,383 acres
Percent contained: 100%
Costs to Date: $2,384,877
Events: Due to rain during the day and all last night demobilization started and went throughout the day.
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Situation as of 08/31/2008 at 6:00 PM
Personnel: 398
Size: 102,383 acres
Percent contained: 60%
Costs to Date: $1,848,482
Ongoing cooperative efforts between Incident Management Team, Musselshell and Yellowstone Counties.
We have not posted regarding this megafire because we thought it would be contained much sooner. But now it has gone mega (100,000+ acres), so it deserves mention.
