Small Fire Stopped near Sisters

A small fire was discovered and stopped near Sisters.

Aided by calm winds, firefighters, helicopters and air tankers quickly doused a small new wildfire five miles southwest of Sisters Monday afternoon as the National Weather Service issued a “Fire Weather Watch,” warning of thunderstorms over the next couple of days.

It includes a summary of the other fires going on in Oregon right now:

Wildfires broke out over the weekend north of Burns (contained at 33 acres) and the Round Valley Fire southeast of Bonanza in Klamath County (70 percent contained by Monday at about 165 acres), but areas west of the Cascades had even hotter temperatures and also had new fires.

The Oak Flat Fire on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest has grown to an estimated 500 acres, about 20 miles west of Grants Pass. The heat and wind sent firebrands sparking spot fires up to a half-mile away on Sunday.

The 74-acre Garnish Valley Fire in the state Department of Forestry's Forest Grove District in northwest Oregon was reported Saturday evening and has been contained.

Check it out at http://www.ktvz.com/news/24648745/detail.html.

Williams Creek Fire Update

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/oregon_138_may_open_today_as_f.html

The Williams Creek Fire is now 60% contained and has burned just over 6500 acres. Due to the cooler weather and rain, firefighters have been able to get an upper hand against the fire and are expecting to open Hwy 138 today. The 8 people who were evacuated from Moore Hills are also expected to be able to return today.

Press Release: Lightning-Caused Fire Near Umatilla Depot

Several thousand acres burn at Umatilla Chemical Depot. Lightning caused several wildfires.

Umatilla Chemical Depot, Hermiston, Ore. - Depot officials have revised estimates about lightning-caused wildfires on the Umatilla Chemical Depot. Preliminary estimates are that fires have now burned several thousand of the depot's 19,729 acres.

The fires are burning in the northern portion of the depot and adjacent property off post. Portions of some fires are now contained. Firefighters from the depot, Boardman, Irrigon and Hermiston Fire Departments are fighting the blazes per mutual aid agreements.

The depot's chemical weapons stockpile is not involved in the fire. Chemical weapons at the depot are stored in reinforced concrete earth-covered "igloos" designed to resist fire or other threats. All nerve agent has been destroyed; the only remaining munitions are bulk containers of mustard blister agent that do not have any explosive components.

As previously reported:

* The first fire started at about 6:20 p.m. today.

* One emergency response worker suffered a knee injury while exiting a vehicle and was taken to the depot clinic.

* Depot workers moved vehicles and other equipment out of the path of the fire.

* Depot officials notified off-post emergency operations centers in Umatilla and Morrow counties, Ore.; Benton County, Wash.; those in Oregon and Washington states; and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

Oregon Thunderstorms and Lightning Sparks Fires

The weather and heat warning for lightning storms turned out to be accurate: over the weekend there were 6458 recorded lightning strikes starting more than 77 fires. Most of the fires were contained to one acre or less. But the thunderstorms in Central Oregon are expected to continue through Tuesday night. A red flag warning for heat and fire danger will remain in effect at least until Tuesday night.

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/lightning_strikes_spark_scores.html

There are currently 5 major fires in Oregon, and 7 major fires in Washington. Northern California had several fires start in the Klamath Forest from lightning strikes. USFS says that they are currently holding with the equipment and personnel on hand as long as no additional major fires flare up.

Current fires map: http://www.nwccweb.us/information/firemap.asp

But our question to you is this: if you live in a community near the forest and lightning strikes cause a major fire near you, are you prepared in the event of an emergency evacuation?

In the past, evacuations have been declared in as little as a few hours and if you do not have a plan and an evacuation kit prepared then you may not have time to get ready. In your evacuation kit you need to have extra medicines, copies of important documents, and some non-perishable food and drink items, as well as anything else you think you will need for at least 72 hours.

72 hour kit. I do, do you?

Williams Creek Fire near Steamboat, Oregon

Last week FEMA released several articles about the dangers of wildfires. This weekend has proven that it can happen before you know it.

Last week the Williams Creek Fire started burning in the Umpqua National Forest, 3 miles west of the community of Steamboat. That fire has grown to more than 4500 acres by this morning and is only 20% contained. The rugged terrain and dry weather has made it difficult to fight the fire. With more than 1000 firefighters and six helicopters working on the fire, it has caused a series of closures and at least one evacuation.

* Highway 138 is closed between mileposts 29 and 39

* Rock Creek Rd and Canton Rd are closed

* Williams Creek, Bogus Creek, and Scaredman Creek campgrounds are closed

* North Umpqua Trail #1414 is closed from Fern Falls to the Motthead Trailhead

* Steamboat Inn on Highway 138 is evacuated, and residence protection is in place for 8 Moore Hill buildings

See the links for maps and pictures.

http://www.ktvl.com/articles/fire-1191358-lines-creek.html

http://www.inciweb.org/incident/1763/

http://kezi.com/page/135959