From Derek Eimer:

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Re: From Derek Eimer:

Post by OregonJim » Thu Sep 10, 2020 3:31 pm

I hope you all are safe. Things look horrible all over the west coast. Here in Oregon (near Salem) the smoke is so thick that it is hard to breathe and fires seem to be raging everywhere. Good luck to all of you.
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Re: From Derek Eimer:

Post by ratled » Thu Sep 10, 2020 4:17 pm

Here is the latest I can grab as of 0830 9/10/20
Fire started during the night of September 7, near Slater Butte Fire Lookout on the Klamath National Forest. It is currently burning on the Klamath, Six Rivers, and Rogue-Siskiyou National Forests in Siskiyou and Del Norte Counties in California and Josephine County in Oregon. Road closure and evacuations are in place due to the Slater Fire.

As of 7 a.m. September 10, 2020 the wind driven wildfire has grown to an estimated 120,000 acres and is 0% contained.

Current evacuation orders are posted on Siskiyou County Sheriff Department Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SiskiyouCountySheriff/

For Del Norte County evacuation information see https://www.facebook.com/DelNorteOffice ... cyServices.

Closures are in effect in some National Forests due to extreme fire danger. For more information:
Klamath NF closure information
Six Rivers NF closure information

Fire restrictions are in effect on the Klamath, Six Rivers, and Rogue-Siskiyou National Forests. For more information:
Klamath NF fire restrictions
Six Rivers NF fire restrictions
Rogue-Siskiyou NF fire restrictions

Additional information on the Slater Fire is available on the Inciweb at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7173/ and on Klamath National Forest Facebook https://www.facebook.com/KlamathNF/ and Klamath National Forest Twitter at https://twitter.com/Klamath_NF. The new Fire Information phone number is 530 324 2528.


Looks like the main part of town has been spared for now
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Re: From Derek Eimer:

Post by ratled » Sat Sep 12, 2020 3:08 pm

Not a lot new info being released but I did find this:

As of 7 a.m. September 12, 2020 the Slater Fire has grown to an estimated 122,006 acres and is 0% contained. The Devil Fire, which was detected on September 9, 2020, is located north of Upper Devil's Peak on the Klamath National Forest. It is currently estimated at 3,888 acres and is also 0% contained.

Closures and Evacuations:

As of September 11, 2020:
EVACUATION ORDERS (mandatory) along Highway 96 from Scott Bar Road to Portuguese Creek have been DOWNGRADED to EVACUATION WARNINGS. (advisory.)
EVACUATION ORDERS (mandatory) along Elk Creek Road have been DOWNGRADED to EVACUATION WARNINGS (advisory.)
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Re: From Derek Eimer:

Post by ratled » Sun Sep 13, 2020 12:59 am

HAPPY CAMP, CALIFORNIA — Based on reduced fire activity, fire suppression strategy on the Slater and Devil Fires yesterday changed from structure and utility protection only to a larger perimeter containment strategy. After an infrared heat detection flight last night, Team 10 was able to confirm that the total footprint of the fire was smaller than first estimated using satellite and data from ground troops.

Along the Slater Fire’s northwestern side in Del Norte County, the focus remained on point protection yesterday, primarily along Highway 199 from Gasquet to the Collier Tunnel. The fire is currently hung up at Oregon Mountain Road and backing into Knopki Creek, so there is currently little movement along the southwestern edge in this area. The Gasquet Ranger District’s (Six Rivers National Forest) Smith River Hotshots have been assigned to the Slater Fire.

On the south end of the Slater Fire, favorable weather conditions slowed fire activity significantly yesterday and overnight. However, the initially hot and fast-moving fire weakened trees in the burn area. Falling snags along Highway 96, some of them very large, pose a risk to firefighters and anyone else nearby.

Firing operations will begin today along the Slater Fire’s eastern edge to protect structures in the Thompson Creek area, while scouts look for opportunities to contain and control fire spread down river where the fire is approaching Highway 96. Firefighters are working to assess and implement structure protection in the Highway 96 corridor, and to protect road access on the highway.

Further up the eastern flank of the Slater Fire, crews continued to make good progress constructing fireline between the town of Seiad and the Devil Fire, which is likely to soon merge with the Slater Fire burning to its west. Fire managers have also continued scouting to determine where best to hold the fire to prevent it from threatening communities and structures to the north, east, and west.

Meanwhile, on the north side of the Slater Fire, crews and equipment continue to make headway along the west side of Highway 199, with hopes of buttoning up both sides of that highway with fireline and turn the northwest corner of the fire to connect with containment efforts along the fire’s northern edge. The Wild Rivers Ranger District (Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest) currently has 150 local firefighters assigned to the Slater Fire that are working along the Highway 199 corridor.

Meanwhile, aircraft are standing by to assist in firefighting and intelligence gathering if the air clears enough. Smoky conditions have dampened fire activity over the past few days, but also hampered the use of aircraft due to poor visibility.

Moisture recovery rose overnight and is expected to go up even more today, with probability of ignition dropping to 40 to 50 percent for today. A low-pressure system from the coast could scour smoke out of the fire area starting tomorrow, but could also result in increased wind speeds. Relative humidity is expected to continue climbing, aiding fire managers in suppression efforts. With higher fuel moistures and light variable winds, the fire is anticipated to be more terrain driven tomorrow. Winds out of the east have caused smoke impacts from the Slater and Devil Fires that have extended over to the coast. Smoke continues to impact most of the west coast due to multiple large fires.

Both fires are still zero percent contained. The Devil Fire is estimated at 3,888 acres. The Slater Fire is estimated at 122,006 acres, according to last night’s infrared flight.

Due to extreme fire danger, all National Forests in California have been closed from September 9 through 14, 2020. More details on these closure orders, along with fire restrictions orders, can be found on National Forest websites and on InciWeb. Highway 199 remains closed from O’Brien south almost to Gasquet. Highway 96 remains closed from Portuguese Creek to Clear Creek.

EVACUATION ORDERS remain in effect for most of Happy Camp. However, Elk Creek Road and Seiad were both downgraded to an EVACUATION WARNING. In Oregon, Level 3 orders are in effect in the O'Brien and Takilma areas, Dick George Road (including most of Holland Loop) and Takilma Road areas, Brown Road, O'Brien and all areas south of Brown Road O'Brien. EVACUATION WARNINGS are in effect for Gasquet in California and Level 2 orders are in effect south of Kerby and Cave Junction areas in Oregon.

For more specific evacuation information, including information on any potential evacuations, visit the following sites:

Current evacuation orders are posted on Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SiskiyouCountySheriff/.

For Del Norte County evacuation information, see www.facebook.com/DelNorteOfficeOfEmergencyServices.

Additional info and resources for Josephine County can be found by calling Josephine County Fire Information Center 541-474-5305 (7am-10pm) or online at:

https://www.facebook.com/josephinecountyEM

https://www.co.josephine.or.us/fire

www.rvem.org

Additional information on the Slater Fire is available on Inciweb at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7173/ and on Klamath National Forest Facebook page at www.facebook.com/KlamathNF/.
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Re: From Derek Eimer:

Post by theseeker » Sun Sep 13, 2020 1:34 pm

Rattled, thanks for the current update. My heart and prayers go out to all of the families and people on the west coast. Especially in the Happy Camp, Klamath River area. Praying for the safety of everyone there.
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Re: From Derek Eimer:

Post by ratled » Mon Sep 14, 2020 2:57 am

I see they posted the morning brief late and there was no PM brief. Sounds like they have a handle around Happy Camp


HAPPY CAMP, CALIFORNIA — The Slater Fire continues to slowly spread in all directions, moderated by cool, moist weather in low-lying areas. The Devil Fire remains unstaffed, but Team 10 is scouting containment opportunities. Additional firefighting resources are on order.

Fire activity around Happy Camp has now significantly moderated, with humidity damping down fire activity along the fire perimeter there. The town remains in mop-up and patrol status, with crews falling hazard trees and power companies working diligently to restore infrastructure so that displaced residents can return as soon as it’s safe.

The Slater Fire has now backed down to Highway 96 near Seattle Creek, where firefighters have built handline to limit fire growth potential and keep the fire north of the highway. A firing operation is planned to strengthen an indirect line protecting residences north of Happy Camp along the Highway 96 corridor, creating a solid containment line along the highway. Meanwhile, protection is underway around structures and utilities from Thompson Creek east (and downriver) to Fort Goff. Firefighters are also performing prep work from China Creek to Thompson Creek in case the fire arrives there.

Near Gasquet, crews focused on structure protection and scouting for areas to engage. The fire is

currently hung up at Oregon Mountain Road and backing into Knopki Creek, with not much movement

observed on the SW edge. A local crew, the Smith River Hotshots, have been assigned to the Slater Fire.

Along the west side of the fire, Siskiyou Mountain Ranger District initial attack firefighting resources have begun to prep the 1040 road in the event that the Devil Fire should work its way out of the Red Buttes Wilderness. Portions of the 1040 road were treated in 2017 during the Miller Complex. Along with increased humidity, the Miller Complex Fire scar should slow or stop fire spread towards the Applegate Valley. The Slater fire has not made it into Steve’s Fork; fire personnel scouted the area several days ago and completed a full reconnaissance before the smoke settled in. The Slater Fire is currently eight to ten miles from Williams, Oregon. Firefighting resources are scouting for the best places to put in direct, indirect and contingency lines to protect communities in this area. Firefighters are preparing Oregon Caves National Monument to protect it from the Slater Fire.

Winds out of the east have caused smoke impacts from the Slater and Devil Fires that have extended to the coast. Smoke continues to impact most of the west coast due to multiple large fires. The cool, wet smoke inversion is likely to remain into this afternoon, forecasts say. The inversion could begin mixing up into the atmosphere later this afternoon or tomorrow. Meanwhile, winds today are blowing 15 miles per hour on ridgetops. This could affect fire behavior at higher elevations in the Slater Fire’s interior and on the Devil Fire.

Both fires are still zero percent contained, burning mainly in timber, logging slash and brush. The Devil Fire is estimated at 4,149 acres. The Slater Fire is estimated at 126,333 acres, according to last night’s infrared flight.

Due to extreme fire danger, all National Forests in California have been closed from September 9 through 14, 2020. More details on these closure orders, along with fire restrictions orders, can be found on National Forest websites and on InciWeb. Highway 199 remains closed from O’Brien south almost to Gasquet. Highway 96 remains closed from Portuguese Creek to Clear Creek.
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Re: From Derek Eimer:

Post by ratled » Mon Sep 14, 2020 7:13 pm

Sep 14 morning update

HAPPY CAMP, CALIFORNIA — The Slater Fire continued to back and flank at lower elevations in both California and Oregon yesterday. Fire activity remained relatively moderate in places that remained under the smoke inversion, but increased in places where the inversion lifted, especially on the Oregon side. Both the north and south edges of the fire experienced some spotting last night. In Cedar Creek, Dwight Creek, and Elk Creek areas, fire-suppression efforts focused successfully protection around structures and utilities – no structures were damaged or destroyed overnight. The fire burned with less intensity around the Holland Loop area, so emphasis shifted to strengthening indirect firelines to increase community protection.

Crews mopped up around hand and dozer lines down to Highway 96 along the fire’s eastern edge, reinforcing those control lines overnight. Fire burning near Highway 96 between Happy Camp and Seiad caused some rocks to roll onto the road. Firefighters are securing line west from China Point towards Happy Camp. Work to defend constructed fire lines around structures at Thompson Creek is ongoing as the Slater Fire approaches that neighborhood from the west and the Devil Fire burns to the northeast.

Operational priorities on the south side of the fire for today remain point protection around structures and utilities, and detecting and containing any spots across the highway or ahead of the main fire. Fire personnel are hiking into the Devil Fire again today looking for places to contain the fire along the Pacific Crest Trail, with the goal of keeping that fire west of Seiad Creek and out of the Applegate River.

Near Gasquet, crews focused on structure protection to the southwest along Knopki Creek. Firefighters worked to strengthen control lines along Monkey Ridge and Oregon Mountain Road to prevent the fire’s spread west. Since the fire crossed to the west side of Highway 199, fire managers are now adjusting their control strategy and falling back to employ different control points further to the northwest. A local crew, the Smith River Hotshots, have been assigned to the Slater Fire.

Along the west side of the fire, Siskiyou Mountain Ranger District initial attack firefighting resources have continued to prep the 1040 road in the event that the Devil Fire should work its way out of the Red Buttes Wilderness. Portions of the 1040 road were treated in 2017 during the Miller Complex. With increased humidity, the Miller Complex Fire scar should slow or stop fire spread towards the Applegate Valley. The Slater Fire has not made it into Steve’s Fork; fire personnel scouted the area several days ago and completed a full reconnaissance before the smoke settled in. The Slater Fire is currently eight to ten miles from Williams, Oregon. Firefighting resources are scouting for the best places to put in direct, indirect and contingency lines to protect communities in this area. Firefighters are preparing Oregon Caves National Monument to protect it from the Slater Fire.

Winds out of the east have caused smoke impacts from the Slater and Devil Fires that have extended to the coast. Smoke continues to impact most of the west coast due to multiple large fires. The cool, wet smoke inversion is likely to remain into this afternoon, forecasts say. The inversion could begin mixing up into the atmosphere later this afternoon or tomorrow. Meanwhile, winds today are blowing 15 miles per hour on ridgetops. This could affect fire behavior at higher elevations in the Slater Fire’s interior and on the Devil Fire.

Due to a record number of wildfires burning across the West and resulting resource drawdown, fire managers are moving resources around to respond to the highest threats to life and property on the Slater Fire. The Devil Fire is estimated at 4,429 acres, and is 0% contained. The Slater Fire is estimated at 131,601 acres, and is 5% contained.

Incident Management Team 10 is readying to transfer command of the northern and western sides of the Slater Fire to an incoming Type 1 Team, while retaining command of the south and east sides of the Slater Fire and all of the Devil Fire.

Due to extreme fire danger, all National Forests in California have been closed from September 9 through 14, 2020. More details on these closure orders, along with fire restrictions orders, can be found on National Forest websites and on InciWeb.

As a result of extreme fire activity, the Bureau of Land Management Medford District has temporarily closed all BLM-administered public lands south of Grants Pass, Interstate 5, and U.S. Route 199 to the border of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. Maps of the closure areas are available on the Bureau of Land Management’s website: https://www.blm.gov/programs/public-saf ... strictions.

Highway 199 remains closed from O’Brien south almost to Gasquet. Highway 96 remains closed from Portuguese Creek to Clear Creek.
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Re: From Derek Eimer:

Post by chickenlip_willie » Mon Sep 14, 2020 9:06 pm

Thank you for the up dates .... Steve
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Re: From Derek Eimer:

Post by delnorter » Tue Sep 15, 2020 12:39 pm

We at Caltrans will be trying to open Highway 199 to controlled traffic today. To this point the smoke and fire along the the highway has been too dangerous for the public in general. We are bringing in tree fallers and heavy equipment from our crews, a couple Smith River N F hotshot crews are here and some private bulldozers are now cutting fire-line.

So far the efforts have pretty much been on the Oregon side of the Collier Tunnel. Today we’ll try to expand that to the California side-saddle well. The winds in these mountains that divide the coast from the interior country change constantly. Very dangerous.

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Re: From Derek Eimer:

Post by Jim_Alaska » Tue Sep 15, 2020 4:01 pm

Thanks for the update Mike. It is beginning to look more promising on both sides of the border. I woke to a lot less smoke this morning as the new weather front moves in. Hopefully enough smoke will clear to allow for aircraft o be used; so far the smoke has been so thick that they could not us aircraft, so they have been severely limited to equipment and personnel on the ground.
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