Date: July 31, 2021
Contact: Central Oregon Fire Information Desk, 541-316-7711, [email protected]
Central Ore. – Today fire crews made great progress on the Deep Creek and Johnson Ridge Fires increasing containment on both fires.
The Deep Creek fire started on Thursday afternoon and is located 21 miles north of Madras, Ore. It is 2,010 acres is size with 23% containment. The Johnson Ridge Fire located 9 miles northwest of Shaniko, Ore. started early Friday morning and is 789 acres and is 90% contained.
A small amount of precipitation came through the fire area helped firefighting efforts, giving firefighters time to work on securing the fire perimeters, which increased containment.
A Type 3 helicopter continued to support ground crews with bucket work, providing water to remote pockets of trees and brush. Hand crews and engines worked around the fires edge mopping up and patrolling established dozer lines and ensuring the black edges of the fire are cold to the touch.
Crews will continue to work the fire for coming days. Rocky rough terrain in parts of the Deep Creek fire challenge firefighters. Firefighters will make problematic tree stringers and thicker fuels a priority. Firefighters will also ensure all fire edges are secure in case high winds come in with anticipated storm systems.
A fire camp for the two fires has been established at Madras Elementary school. There are 135 personnel staffing the fires. The BLM Prineville District and Bakeoven/Shaniko Rural Fire Protection Association continued to work in unified command on the fire.
We ask communities of Central Oregon and visitors to continue to be vigilant about fire prevention. No campfires are allowed anywhere in Central Oregon and being aware of parking or driving on dry grass. The precipitation has been refreshing but many areas received minimal moisture and even those areas with moderate amounts will dry very quickly! Central Oregon remains in extreme drought, leading to continued extreme fire danger
For current wildland fire information, the public can visit centraloregonfire.org or follow fire information on Twitter @CentralORfire.
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