Minimal Rain Reported on The Forest
Incident: North Fork Complex Wildland Fire
Released: 8/21/2008
Umpqua National Forest
www.fs.fed.us/r6/umpqua
Contact: Pam Sichting 957-3487
Minimal Rain Reported on the Forest
ROSEBURG, OR - August 21, 2008, 7 am - The anticipated rain that was forecasted for the past two days did not materialize for the Forest as predicted. Remote Automatic Weather Stations (RAWS) distributed around various locations on the Forest showed very little precipitation over the past 24 hrs. The largest amount of rain of .45 inches was measured at the Granddad RAWS located on the North Umpqua Ranger District.
With the cooler temperatures and cloud cover few smokes have been located which leaves the total at 97 since last week-end's lightning storms. The counts still stand at: Diamond Lake Ranger District - 50, Tiller Ranger District - 31, and North Umpqua Ranger District - 19.
After this mornings scattered showers move through the area, a warming trend is predicted with temperatures creeping back into the 80 and 90 degrees by this week-end. High winds are still expected for the day in the higher Cascade Mountains. "Any gains in fuel moistures will be lost within a few days with the increasing temperatures" says Joe Linn, Umpqua National Forest Fire Staff Officer. Linn continued "The warm, dry situation we had last week will be back which means increased fire behavior."
With the week-end close at hand, Forest visitors are reminded of the very high fire hazard in the woods and to drive defensive while watching out for firefighter resources. The public use restrictions through-out the Forest remains in effect.
The Umpqua National Forest remains at an Industrial Fire Precaution Level (IFPL) III, partial shut-down, which restricts industrial operators working on National Forest land. This restriction also prohibits all cutting of firewood.
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