[Parkdale, Ore.] Firefighters on the 1620 Road Fire were
challenged Tuesday by moderate winds, steep terrain, and thick fuels. The fire was held within its existing
footprint using air resources to drop water and retardant to check fire growth supporting
the ground crews. The combined fire
acreage is 85 acres with 20% containment and 10% control.
The original fire is fully lined by roads and dozer
line. Yesterday firefighters completed “plumbing”
this portion of the fire. Plumbing
includes assembling fire hose around the fire perimeter to be used for mop-up. Mop-up for this part of the fire will begin
today, firefighters will methodically work through the fire looking for heat
and flames to limit any potential for the fire to spread or move outside the
fireline.
Today crews will be continuing construction of
handline around the spotfire to the east. Constructing fireline in these areas is an
arduous process due to the difficult terrain and fuels. Firefighters are continuing to secure
portions of the fire and strengthening the existing lines. Variation in fuel conditions within the fire
perimeter is resulting in unburned vegetation inside the line. This unburned fuel makes suppression more
difficult as the firefighters work through focusing on open flame and heat.
A Type 3 organization from Central Oregon Fire
Management Service is managing the fire.
Resources on the fire include hand crews, fire engines, dozers, and excavators. Heavy air tankers, fireboss scoopers, a Type
1 helicopter and a Type 2 helicopter are available as needed.
The weather for today includes the possibility of
thunderstorms with strong gusty winds over the fire area, with a chance of
wetting rain. Lightning and the
associated stormy conditions may cause aircraft to be grounded until the storm
passes. Specific resources assigned to
the fire have been pre-identified to support initial attack within the area
around the fire if these storms cause any new fire starts.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation at
this time.
For additional information on ODF’s Central Oregon
District, including contact information and unit offices, please visit www.ODFcentraloregon.com.
