Slater and Devil Fires Update
Monday, September 28, 2020, 7:30 a.m.
Fire origin: September 8, 2020
South Zone Slater/Devil Fire Info (530) 324-2528; 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
North Zone Slater Fire Info (503) 867-8593; 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
General Fire Info - Wildland Info Center: (458) 206-3043; 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Media Information: (541) 249-5117; 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Email: Slaterfirenorth.information@gmail.com
Website: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7173/
Summary
High ridgetop winds grounded most aircraft yesterday. Late afternoon, helicopters supported firefighters, dropping water from buckets in the Thompson Creek area and flying reconnaissance missions. UAS (drones) also flew portions of the fire to identify hotspots. Fire officials want to remind the public to use extreme caution when out recreating due to predicted high winds, temperatures, low relative humidity and very dry fuels, creating conditions for any new fire starts to spread rapidly.
Public Meeting
Northern Rockies Team 2 and the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Blue Incident Management Team will hold a virtual public meeting at 6 p.m. PST, Tuesday, September 29, 2020. The meeting will be livestreamed to help meet recommendations for minimizing the spread of COVID-19. Members of the incident management teams and representatives for the local community will provide an update on the current wildfire situation, the status of evacuations and closures, and county services. The meeting will be live streamed on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/SlaterAndDevilFireInformation
Slater Fire: Crews will continue to hold and improve the line from the Oregon/California border on the west side of Highway 199 east to the Sucker Creek area. The primary direction for firefighters is mopup and patrol. Crews are finding fewer hotspots each day. Many areas have hose lay to bring water to the line and assist crews with mopup. The areas near communities such as Sun Star and Takilma are in final patrol status and the remaining out-of-state structural resources will start to head home on Tuesday.
Crews will look for opportunities over the next several days to complete small firing operations to clean up fuels between the main body of the fire and the constructed fireline in the Monkey Creek Ridge area, the area south of Browntown to Number Eight Gulch, and along the east side of the fire. Crews will continue to remove hazard trees from the roadside along the Grayback Road.
Crews in the Happy Camp area spent the day mopping up hotspots that were well inside the fire’s perimeter. Operations reported very few issues. The Thompson Creek area had debris rolling outside the fireline, causing a 1/3-acre spot that was caught quickly. Crews will continue digging line as close to the fire as they can and use small firing operations where necessary to clean up the fireline. Firefighters continue to construct direct fire line and prepare roads above Thompson Creek. Ariel ignition is planned to establish indirect sections of containment line above Thompson Creek. Crews continue treating hazard trees along Grayback Road.
Devil Fire: Crews on the Devil Fire have made good progress on the southeast side of the fire and lines held along the Butte Fork Trail, the 1040 Road and on the southwest corner of the fire. Firefighters continue to build line along the southwest side and are mopping up hotspots and cleaning up the line as they go. The south edge of the fire has been cold trailed from the Pacific Crest Trail towards Fort Goff Creek.
Weather: A Red Flag Warning remains in effect through Monday evening for high winds and low relative humidity. Temperatures in the valley are expected to be in the 90’s this week and relative humidity is expected to remain in the teens, creating conditions where any new fire start could spread rapidly.
Evacuations
There were no changes in evacuation levels yesterday. County Sheriffs continue to work with fire leadership to determine when to modify evacuation levels.
Josephine County information: 541-474-5305 or www.facebook.com/josephinecountyEM, www.co.josephine.or.us/fire, or www.rvem.org
Siskiyou County information: (530) 841-2900 or www.facebook.com/SiskiyouCountySheriff/
Del Norte County information: (707) 464-7213 or www.facebook.com/DelNorteOfficeOfEmergencyServices and www.preparedelnorte.com/
Closures: The USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region extended the Regional Order through September 30, 2020, temporarily closing nine national forests, including the Six Rivers and Klamath National Forests. The region is under emergency fire restrictions.
Effective yesterday, parts of both the Wild Rivers Ranger District and Siskiyou Mountains Ranger District reopened. Some areas remain closed for emergency crews’ safety and to allow for fire suppression and burned area recovery. Find updated closure orders and maps at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/rogue-siskiyou/alerts-notices
The Bureau of Land Management Medford District has public lands closures in effect near the Slater Fire and the South Obenchain Fire. Closure area maps are available at: www.blm.gov/programs/public-safety-and-fire/fire-and-aviation/regional-info/oregon-washington/fire-restrictions
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