Cottonwood Creek Fire Update
[John Day, Ore.] Operations across the 159 acre Cottonwood
Creek Fire have fully transitioned to mop-up work. Hoselays have been completed, with water
being distributed to all parts of the fire as needed. Containment for the fire has increased to 40%
as of late Monday afternoon. The fire
was ignited by lighting from a passing thunderstorm Thursday afternoon, but was
not reported until mid-day Friday. Dozers,
wildland engines, helicopters and airtankers were successful in stopping forward
growth of the fire by late Friday evening.
Burning snags and “rollers” have concerned firefighters
for the last several days as they worked to strengthen firelines and keep the
fire within the original footprint. “Rollers”
are burning chunks of logs or other material that can ignite un-burned fuels as
they roll down steep terrain. These “rollers”
and embers from the snags can create spotfires outside the fire’s edge. The work completed by firefighters to mop-up
and cool active areas of the fire, fall snags and widen the cold black adjacent
to the dozer line has significantly mitigated the risk of the fire moving
outside the fireline. Firefighters will
continue mop-up work on the fire, focusing on areas of active flames and gridding
for heat near the fireline.
The fire is being managed by a Type 3
organization from ODF’s Central Oregon District. Ten wildland engines, five
hand crews, three water tenders, and additional overhead are assigned to the
fire. Local aircraft are available as
need to support firefighting activities.
A Regulated-Use
Closure is in effect for the Central Oregon District to reduce human caused
fires. The closure restricts mowing of
dried grass, cutting and grinding of metal, and chainsaw use between 10:00 a.m.
and 8:00 p.m. as well as prohibiting campfires, cooking fires and warming
fires. The full proclamation and
restrictions are available at https://gisapps.odf.oregon.gov/firerestrictions/PFR.html.
Industrial operations on forestland within the Central Oregon District
also have restrictions in place. Details
for these activities are found at https://gisapps.odf.oregon.gov/firerestrictions/IFPL.html.
Preventing human caused fires allows firefighters to focus suppression
effort on fires started by lightning.
These focused activities result in smaller fires with less damage to
natural resources and communities and fewer impacts to air quality.
For
additional information on ODF’s Central Oregon District, including contact
information and unit offices, please visit www.ODFcentraloregon.com.
