[JOHN DAY, Ore.] Firefighters from Oregon Department of Forestry’s John Day Unit have responded to numerous wildfires ignited by passing thunderstorms since Sunday afternoon. Most of these fires were caught during initial attack or a short extended attack. On Wednesday fire activity increased in the area on both ODF protected lands and on adjacent federal lands. These fires were primarily holdover fires from Tuesday’s thunderstorms which came with minimal rain. Dry fuels combined with hot temperatures allowed fires to grow rapidly Wednesday afternoon pushing both ground and air resources.
Some of these fires are continuing to spread today,
but most have been caught and have fireline around the perimeter. There is significant work to be completed to
secure the fires and mop-up the interior, in addition to suppression of the
fires which continue to spread.
Today ODF’s Incident Management Team 2 (IC Cline) is
being in-briefed by the Central Oregon District in preparation to assume
command of seven fires later this evening.
Six of the fires, burning on ODF protected lands, will be managed as a
complex in the area around Monument, Oregon.
The Steet Mountain Complex includes Steet Mountain (~860 acres), Cochran
(~110 acres), Two Cabins (~80 acres), Conger (~5 acres), Troff Canyon (~.25
acres), and Jones Canyon (~.25 acres). The
Team will also be managing the Laurel Fire (~2,000 acres), this fire is burning
lands managed by Prineville BLM and ODF protected private lands six miles south
of Spray in Wheeler County.
Bringing in ODF Team 2 to manage resources and suppression
activities for these seven fires will free up local resources for initial
attack on new fires and provide better coordination of resource needs on the
fires. “We are really thankful to have
the team come and help us with these fires,” District Forester Mike Shaw
commented during the in-brief. “We know
you guys have the capacity to quickly get these fires off the landscape and
free up resources for other fires”.
Firefighter and public safety is the priority during
this incident, including COVID mitigation.
Personnel will be following Center for Disease Control guidelines to
limit personal interactions both within camp and with the local community. The incident command post and fire camp are
closed to the public.
Monitor ODF’s Central Oregon District social media
(see side bar) for fire information updates.
