Rattle Fire Increases in Size
Incident: North Fork Complex Wildland Fire
Released: 8/24/2008
Umpqua National Forest
www.fs.fed.us/r6/umpqua
Contact: Pam Sichting 957-3487
Rattle Fire Increases in Size
ROSEBURG, OR - August 24, 2008, 8 am - Smoke hangs in the draws and canyons this morning from the Rattle Fire that burned several hundred acres yesterday afternoon. Located in the Boulder Creek Wilderness, in the area of the 1996 Spring Fire, the Rattle Fire grew yesterday to over 400 acres.
The Blue Mountain Team, responsible for the North Fork Fire, assumed management of the Rattle Fire this morning. Three interagency hotshot crews will begin to construct indirect hand line along Rattlesnake Ridge.
Approximately 10 engines with crews and several sets of fallers will be preparing Forest Service Road 4760-100 for burnout operations. The fire is expected to be active again in the late morning once the inversion lifts.
For public and firefighter safety, a Forest Closure Order is being prepared to close access to the upper portion of the Illahee Flat Road, trails into the Boulder Creek Wilderness, and portions of the Wilderness. The fire is burning away from the community of Dry Creek; following the slope of the drainage to the northeast and up toward the Illahee lookout.
A temporary flight restriction (TFR) remains on the Diamond Lake Ranger District from the Toketee Airstrip northwest to the northwest boundary of the Boulder Creek Wilderness. For specifics, aviators need to contact the FAA.
The Lonesome Fire burning in the Rogue-Umpqua Divide is estimated at 495 acres in size. A Closure Order restricting access to the fire area is in place. For more information on this closure or fire contact Paul Galloway at (541) 840-0094 or visit the Inciweb Incident Information System website at http://inciweb.org/incident/1497.
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. The public use restrictions through-out the Forest also remains in effect.
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