Central Oregon Wildfire Information: centraloregonfire.org
Email: [email protected] – Phone: 541-208-7111
Social Media, Evacuation and Closure Information: https://linktr.ee/RailRidgeFire
Acres: 169,631– Containment: 89% – Detection: 09/02/24 – Cause: Lightning – Personnel: 575
Fire restrictions are still in place for both the Ochoco and Malheur National Forests. Visitors should check the Ochoco or Malheur National Forest websites to familiarize themselves with restrictions before they recreate.
There are still active forest closures around the Rail Ridge and Crazy Creek Fires. A map with the ODFW hunting management unit areas overlayed with the closure area and fire footprint can be found at:
https://linktr.ee/RailRidgeFire.
Operational Update – Yesterday, there was an increase in smoke from active fire on the interior of the Black Canyon Wilderness. Air operations and crews in the area located multiple very small spot fires north of the Wilderness which were successfully suppressed. Helicopters supported ground resources with bucket drops with the increase in fire activity. Air Attack was utilized to help coordinate and ensure the safety of all aircraft being used within the temporary flight restriction zone. Crews did not conduct burn operations yesterday due to the low relative humidity and dry fuels.
Today, an increase in smoke volume is expected on the Rail Ridge Fire as active fire behavior is expected again on the Northwest section of the fire. Air support from helicopters and Air Attack remain available to help ground resources as needed. Firefighters will assess weather and fire behavior conditions to determine whether they will perform planned tactical firing operations. The plan would connect the remaining three and a half miles of open line around the Wilderness and would contain the fire spread that has been observed in the past days. It would also reduce the duration of active fire and smoke in the area. Crews will continue road grading, removal of woody debris from suppression efforts, hazard tree removal along the South Fork Road and dozer line repair today across the fire area. The fire’s Resource Advisors (READs) are working closely with crews to ensure that the area is left in good condition for years to come through suppression repair. An additional helicopter will be in the area today as Prineville BLM conducts a wild horse census to monitor and make management decisions about the horse\population within the fire area.
Weather – High pressure and dry conditions will continue today. Temperature will remain above average and minimum relative humidity this afternoon is expected to be near 20%. Winds are expected to be terrain driven with upslope/upvalley winds developing after the inversion breaks in the morning. Temperatures and humidity will moderate through the remainder of the week and no significant winds are forecast, however some gusts up to 20- mph out of the southwest will be possible on Friday.
For Current Evacuation Levels all affected counties, please visit: https://linktr.ee/RailRidgeFire
Closures – The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management have implemented closures for the Rail Ridge Fire. For more details and closure maps, visit https://linktr.ee/RailRidgeFire
