Sisikyou Update - Blue 2 Fire
Incident: Blue 2 Wildfire
Released: 8/12/2008
FIRE UPDATE
Ukonom, Siskiyou, and Blue 2 Fires
Klamath and Six Rivers National Forests
Tuesday, August 12, 2008, 8:00 a.m. On the web at: http://www.inciweb.org/
Siskiyou and Ukonom Complex Information: (530) 627-3532 www.fs.fed.us/r5/klamath
Blue 2 Information: (801) 326-0913 http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sixriversIncid
Incident Command Post is located in Orleans, CA E-mail: ukonom.incident@gmail.com
Overall Strategy: Direct line and indirect line with low-intensity burnouts backed with contingency lines are designed to create one defensible line around both the Blue 2 and Siskiyou fires. These three approaches have been used on the Ukonom fire which has been connected to the Panther Fire to the north. Fire growth within the containment line is expected to continue throughout the summer as the fires run their natural course and burn out or are extinguished by fall rains. Action will be taken to protect significant cultural and ecological sites if threatened. The fire management team is working closely with Karuk, Yurok, and Hoopa tribal representatives and the Klamath and Six Rivers National Forests to contain the fires while protecting structures, infrastructure, cultural sites, ecological settings, and other areas of concern. On the Siskiyou and Ukonom Fires, crews are retrieving equipment from secure areas and bringing it back to camp. An assessment is being made of work needed to rehabilitate dozerline and other suppression related actions so that this work can begin.
Siskiyou Complex: 61,763 acres
Blue 2: 9,447 acres Combined containment: 69%
On the Siskiyou Fire, the west side (Sawtooth Mountain area) is being monitored; further action will be taken in this area as fire activity warrants. The north, east, and south side along Lonesome Ridge are in patrol status. Crews will continue to construct handline from the end of Lonesome Ridge Road west to Blue Creek where it will be connected with the Blue 2 indirect line. A slow, methodical burnout operation will be used to strengthen the handline. Crews will be patrolling areas along Lonesome Ridge through the night.
On the Blue 2 Fire, firefighters continue to monitor the fire's natural progression on the west side down slope toward Crescent City Fork. This progression will be supplemented with burnout operations to maintain a low-intensity, even, slow progression. Crews are monitoring the line on the northeast, along the G-O Road; limited burnout will be done to strengthen the line where appropriate.
Areas of the Siskiyou and the Blue 2 Fires within the Siskiyou Wilderness will be allowed to burn naturally; no suppression action will be taken at this time.
Crews continue to extend the contingency line to the south of the Siskiyou Complex (near Bluff Creek) using handline to connect to a road system at Lookout Point. Roads will be used as indirect line from that point on the west of the Blue 2 Fire. A slow, methodical burnout operation will be used to strengthen the handline.
Extra caution is being used in areas to the south of both fires where Port Orford Cedar trees are infected with a root fungus. Boot, tool, and vehicle washing stations are being used to prevent fungus spread to healthy stands.
Ukonom Complex: 50,183 acres 89% contained
Crews will continue to monitor the entire west, south, and southeast sides of the fire. Handline construction will continue along Yellow Jacket Ridge, over Crapo Mountain, toward the Little North Fork of the Salmon River and will tie into the Uncles Fire which burned in 2006; this section is being managed in a confinement strategy. Burnout operations will begin along this portion of the line as soon as the line is secure and tied into the Uncles Fire area. Crews will be patrolling this area through the night. The east side of the Ukonom Fire within the Marble Wilderness is burning naturally and will continue until it burns out or is extinguished by fall rains; no suppression actions are being taken along this portion of the fire.
Rolling material (rocks and burned debris) continue to present a safety hazard along the road east of Forks of Salmon. The spike camp at Forks of Salmon will be reduced as fire activity in the area declines and crews are moved to the Siskiyou Complex and Blue 2 Fires.
Fire Activity Table
Fire
Name
Total
Acres
Per cent Contained
Expected Contained
Injuries
Total Personnel
Crews
Helicopter
Engines
Dozers
Water tenders
Overhead
Acreage Change·
Siskiyou Complex & Blue 2
71,210
69%
8/30
15
1,505
39
11
38
4
15
394
580
Ukonom Complex
50,183
89%
9/15
7
240
3
0
5
3
13
67
254
TOTALS
121,393
22
1,745
42
11
43
7
28
461
834
·Acreage changes are based on the previous morning's information.- Meetings: Fire personnel will meet with the Hoopa Tribal Council to update them on fire activity. A community meeting will be held in Sawyers Bar at 4:30 this afternoon to update residents on fire activity.
- Health Advisories: Area residents and visitors will experience light to heavy smoky for some time. Visit http://www.ncuaqmd.org/ for the latest information for your community.
- Safety Message: Please drive carefully. Firefighting equipment and periods of heavy smoke may be present at times on Highways 96 and 93 and on other roads in the fire areas.
- Closures: To protect public safety and facilitate fire suppression efforts, the following closures are in effect for the Klamath and Six Rivers National Forests:
·o Siskiyou Complex area: Dillon Creek Campground, the GO Road north of Road 11N11, Dillon Creek Trails, and Roads 14N69, 13N35, 14N19, 14N38, 13N38, 11N11, 12N12, 15N38. Rafting access to the Klamath River in the fire area is restricted.
·o Ukonom Complex area: Salmon River Road (Siskiyou Co.) near Forks of Salmon Dillon Creek, Oak Bottom & Nordheimer Flat Campgrounds, Medicine Mountain Trail (5820), Wooley Creek Trail (5820), Portuguese Peak Trail (5833), Bridge Creek Trail (5816), & all trails within the Ukonom RD Marble Mountain Wilderness, Norcross and Johnson Hunting Ground Trailheads. Although Salmon River Road near Somes Bar to the Forks of the Salmon is closed to the general public, local residents only are allowed to travel this road with restrictions
·o Blue 2 Fire area: Roads: Forest Road 14N01 (Red Mountain Road) from Red Mountain Lookout NE to Intersection with Road 15N01 (GO Road). Road 15N01 from intersection of Road 14N01 east to its termination point. Forest Road 14N01 from intersection with Road 15N13, continuing NE to intersection with Road 15N01. Road 15N01, from intersection with Road 15N39, continuing south to its termination point. Road 15N39, from intersection with Road 15N01, continuing E to its termination point.
Trails: Summit Valley Trail-3E07; South Kelsey Trail-4E06; Gunbarrel Trail-3E01; Boundary Trail-4E50.
For detailed information on the closures contact Forest Service websites at: www.fs.fed.us/r5/klamath/conditions/ or www.fs.fed.us/r5/sixrivers/conditions/ . For information on hunting tag refunds/exchanges, visit California Department of Fish and Game web site at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/hunting/deer/fire.html .#
