Boze and Rainbow Creek Fire Updates 10-2-09
Incident: Boze and Rainbow Creek Wildfire
Released: 10/2/2009
TILLER, OR - October 2, 2009 - This morning the management of the Boze and Rainbow Creek Fires transferred back to a local Type 3 organization lead by incident commander Britt Davis. The incident command post will remain at the Milo Academy near Tiller.
With much cooler temperatures and higher humidities at the upper elevations, the Boze and Rainbow Fires had no significant growth. An infra red flight last night estimates the Boze Fire at 10,500 acres and the Rainbow Creek Fire remains at 4,000 acres, bringing the total for the two fires to about 14,500 acres. The infra-red map also indicates large amounts of scattered heat sources surrounding both fire perimeters and multiple spots of heat to the east of the Rainbow Creek Fire.
A weak weather system is expected to move across the fire area today followed by a stronger and colder system this week-end. Wetting rain amounts are likely Saturday afternoon through Saturday night with snow levels to lower to 4,000 feet late Saturday and continue into Sunday. The snow level could dip to 3,500 feet Sunday morning. These cool, moist conditions will hinder the fire activity. The fire will put up smoke for weeks to come, still burning and smoldering in heavy fuels but there is little predicted chance of the fires spreading.
Resources remaining on the Boze and Rainbow Creek Fires today include: 3 crews, 2 engines, 2 dozers, and 2 camp crews. In total, 233 people are assigned to managing these fires.
Yesterday, in the emergency closure area, a burned-out tree fell across the Black Rock Creek Bridge damaging the guard rail and blocking the South Umpqua Road (Road 28). No firefighters were injured. This affirms the need for a closure area until the fire areas can be cleared of significant dangers to the public. For a full description and map of the closure area see: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/umpqua/conditions/forest-orders/index.shtml
The closure is described as all lands inside the following boundary are closed: Beginning at Forest Service Road (FSR) 2715 and the 530 junction; continuing south to FSR 2814 to FSR 28 (South Umpqua Road); continuing east to FSR 2823 towards Forest Trail 1576 (Castle Creek) continuing on Forest Trail 1576 connecting with FSR 3700-870 (Fish Creek Valley Road) continuing east to Rogue Umpqua Divide Wilderness Boundary, continuing along the northwest of the Wilderness Boundary along the District boundary to junction of FSR 28 and FSR 2715 (French Junction).
Hunters and recreationists are asked to observe the closure area and respect the decisions made by fire managers. Equipment on the roads, firefighters working on or near the roads and trails and burned trees falling (as occurred at Black Rock Creek), are just a few of the safety hazards that exist in and near the fire area. The largest part of the closure area is around the portions of the fires that do not have established control lines. The closure will be enforced; the publics' cooperation will be greatly appreciated.
The recent cooler weather also prompted fire officials to lower the Industrial Fire Precaution Level. This morning the Umpqua National Forest dropped into an Industrial Fire Precaution Level (IFPL) I with a low fire danger rating.
