Thursday, August 14, 2014
Rain over the fires has created
an opportunity for our firefighters to safely take more direct action on the
fires.
The Little Bridge
Creek Fire, located 10 miles west of Winthrop, WA between Canyon Creek and
Little Bridge Creek, is 19% contained. The fire is approximately 4,325 acres. Yesterday,
rain and cooler weather helped firefighters. Operations determined the portion
of fire that crossed over Thompson Ridge on the north end of the fire is much
smaller than originally believed. Today, crews will work directly near the fire
to improve and hold control lines. More information is at inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4051.
The Upper Falls Fire,
located 17 miles north of Winthrop, is at 8,113 acres. The fire is 11%
contained. Yesterday’s rain helped
firefighters gain ground on a challenging area on the southwest side of the
fire. Specialized equipment was brought in to mitigate many standing dead trees
in this area that pose a hazard to our fire crews. Today, additional crews are
moving from other fires to the Upper Falls Fire to take action directly on the
fire’s southern edge. More information is at inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/9060.
The Carlton Complex, located
five miles SW of Okanogan, is holding at the 256,108 acres. The fire is 96%
contained. Today, crews are securing and reinforcing fire lines and continuing
suppression repair on dozer and hand lines. FS Road 100 in the Squaw Creek
Drainage is currently impassable due to debris. Crews are evaluating removal
methods. More information is at inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/3967.
Total personnel working on the three fires, as well as
initial attack resources, is 1,760 including four hot shot crews, 26 type II
crews, 122 engines, 53 water tenders, and 19 dozers. Air resources shared by
all three fires include: two Type 1 helicopters, 3 Type 2 helicopters and four
Type 3 helicopters. All three fires are under the umbrella of one management
team which makes for more efficient use of fire resources. The team is also
coordinating initial attack response for the Methow Valley Ranger District.
Level 1 evacuations remain in effect above the bridge at the
junction of County Road 9137 (East Chewuch Road) and County Road 1213 West
Chewuch Road). This area is also closed to entry on National Forest lands
because of the Forest closure order. No structures or infrastructure are
immediately threatened. No Level 2 or
Level 3 evacuation notices exist for these fires. Level 1 notification remains
in place for the Pine Forest, Sun Mountain, and for Twisp River Road above
Elbow Coulee.
Information Officers will again
be in the Twisp and Winthrop area today to provide information about the Little
Bridge Creek, Carlton Complex, and Upper Falls Fires. For the latest information
on smoke and air quality go to: http://wasmoke.blogspot.com.
Email Address: upperfallslittlebridgefire@gmail.com
Facebook: Great Basin National
Incident Management Team 1
Wildfire blog: upperfallslittlebridgefire.blogspot.com
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