Wizard Fire Update for Saturday, October 4, 2008 A
Incident: Wizard Wildland Fire
Released: 10/4/2008
Camp Sherman, OR --- Yesterday, more than 1/2 of an inch of rain fell on parts of the Wizard Fire helping fire fighters with their mop-up duties. The fire remains at 1,840 acres and is considered 90% contained. Fire lines have been constructed around the entire perimeter of the fire but there are still many areas within the containment lines that are smoking and burning in small pockets. Crews will continue to extinguish all burning materials 300' from fire lines along the north, east and southern parts of the fire. Along the western edge, near Forest Service Road 14, the mop-up standards are 150' in from FS Road 14.
There are a series of weather patterns that will pass over the fire for the next few days that will bring various amounts of rain. With these wet conditions, there will be a rapid demobilization of excess fire suppression resources. The type II Oregon and California (ORCA) Incident Management Team (IMT) will be transferring management responsibilities over to a type III IMT on Sunday morning. This smaller IMT, led by Allen Mitchell, will continue to coordinate fire suppression efforts until it can be and safely turned back to the Sisters Ranger District.
Fire suppression impacts, such as dozer and hand-constructed fire lines are being rehabilitated to prepare for the winter rains and snow. Water bars are being constructed to channel water away from the exposed soils on the fire lines to minimize erosion and to protect existing roads. All unneeded fire hose and water-handling equipment will be collected and brought into fire camp for cleaning, testing and storage.
Road, trail and area closures around the fire area remain in effect. The Allan Springs and Pioneer Ford Campgrounds are closed along with the portion of the Green Ridge Trail (#4025) that traverses the closure area. Please check the Deschutes National Forest website at www.fs.fed.us/r6/centraloregon for the most current information and closure map.
This will be the last Wizard Fire Update, unless conditions change. This fire will be contained at 6:00 p.m. tonight
Tom Lavagnino
ORCA IMT
Information Officer
