Wizard Fire Update for Wednesday, October 30, 2008
Incident: Wizard Wildland Fire
Released: 10/1/2008
Camp Sherman, OR --- Yesterday was another hot and dry day but fortunately, there were no winds over the fire area. This created a heavy layer of smoke which reduced the visibility and grounded all air resources. Along the northern edge of the fire, crews were very successful in managing the fire as it slowly backed down from the Green Ridge Lookout towards Forest Service Road 14. Very few large trees were killed and fire managers were pleased with the results.
Today the weather is expected to continue to be hot and dry and fire crews will monitor the progress of the fire as it gradually burns towards FS Road 14. There will be a chance for isolated thunderstorms today which may cause some instability over the fire area and create erratic winds that could surprise firefighters. With thunderstorms, there will always be a potential for new fire starts caused by the lightning. Fire managers will be carefully watching the area for any new fires. Temperatures are expected to be lower by 10 to 15 degrees on Thursday. The incident meteorologist is forecasting rain on Friday that will assist the fire fighters in their mop-up efforts and reduce the intensity of the fire for the next few days.
On other parts of the fire, crews are extinguishing all burning materials up to 300' from fire line and are beginning to rehabilitate fire suppression-related impacts to the forest. Along Forest Service Road 14, crews were preparing many of the large trees for the backing fire. All burnable materials, both live and dead, were being removed or pulled back from the base of the large pines to reduce the fire's impacts when it passes by.
For further information on road and campground closures around the fire area, please check the Deschutes National Forest website at www.fs.fed.us/r6/deschutes.
Tom Lavagnino
ORCA IMT
Information Officer
