North Fork Complex: September 3, 2009
Incident: North Fork Complex Wildfire
Released: 9/3/2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
North Fork Complex
FIRE UPDATE
Estimated Acreage: 4,480 acres
Resources on the Fire:
20-person fire crews: 4
Engines: 4
Overhead: 11 Total Personnel: 109
Location: 15 miles SE of Ukiah, OR in the North Fork John Day Wilderness. Lat: 44o55'29" Long: 118o39'5"
Cause and Date Started: Lightning, August 1, 2009
Current Update: Strong winds kicked up the fires Wednesday afternoon resulting in a few spot fires across the North Fork John Day River. The winds registered, at times, 15-20 mile-per-hour sustained and with gusts reported as high as 30-40 mile-per-hour. The spot fires were staffed with ground resources with help from helicopter bucket drops. The spot fires have been contained and will be monitored.
Fire managers continue to use helicopter bucket drops on both fires to cool the fire edge along the NFJD River and reduce the potential for spotting across the North Fork John Day River.
An updated fire progression map is available and will be posted on Inciweb at: www.inciweb.org/incident/1799/ .
Incident 136 (Raspberry Creek): Favorable winds on Thursday pushed smoke up canyon, up slope and back into the fire perimeter. Firefighters will monitor the fireline and mop up Wednesday's spot fires.
Incident 129 (Cougar/Basin Creek): The fire continues to "skunk around" within the fire's perimeter as it backs down towards the NFJD River.
Plans for Today: Continue active patrol of the containment line and monitor fire behavior on both fires.
Long Term Suppression Strategy: Fire managers are monitoring the fires closely, watching for "trigger points" such as increased fire behavior, fire spread, and hot, dry weather conditions. Trigger points allow fire managers to adjust firefighting actions and resources accordingly. Managing wilderness fires in this manner provides for firefighter safety and reduces fire costs.
Management: Mike Johnson's Type 3 organization took command on August 28, 2009,.
Cooperators: US Forest Service; Oregon Department of Forestry
Restrictions and Closures: The Umatilla National Forest expended the temporary forest closure ordered in the area surrounding the North Fork Complex fires. Maps are available at www.inciweb.org. Public Use Restrictions on the Umatilla National Forest have been lifted.
Fire Weather: as of Sept. 3, 2009
Friday: Mostly sunny, high near 83. North northwest wind at 6 mph becoming west southwest. Friday Night: Partly cloudy, low around 48. West southwest wind at 11 mph becoming north northwest. Saturday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, high near 76. Southwest wind between 5 and 10 mph. Saturday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, low around 45. Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 66. Sunday Night: A slight chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 41.
