Approximate Location
Incident Overview
The Meadows Fire started 9/16/08 and was reported shortly before 6:00 p.m. by personnel at the Siskiyou Bear Lookout on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Fire is currently estimated at 25 acres and is burning in steep rugged terrain with timbered overstory, dead and downed fuels with intermittent brushy areas. The fire is located about five miles east of McCloud Reservoir in the McCloud Ranger District.
Crews will patrol and mop up. 4 hand crews, 3 engines, 4 water tenders, 1 dozer, and 1 medium helicopters are on the Meadows Fire today. Additional crews are being staged for initial attack if required.
Because of winds and approaching darkness, attempts to drop smokejumpers on the fire the night of the 16th were not possible. An air tanker made successful retardant drops on the fire before returning to the tanker base in Redding. Engines, crews and a dozer responded to the fire location last night but were unable to fight the fire in steep, inaccessible terrain.
The fire is beneath the 500-kV California-Oregon Transmission Project transmission line operated by the Transmission Agency of Northern California (TANC). John Forman, spokesperson for TANC, stated "the power line was de-energized through the cooperative efforts of the USFS and the Western Area Power Administration to assist the fire fighting efforts and provide for the safety of firefighters". Forman went on to say "there are no power outages as a result of the line being out of service, and it will be returned to service as soon as the field representatives deem that it is safe to do so, thereby allowing power operations to resume on the line." Fire officials said that power has been rerouted and the lines remain undamaged.
It was discovered that four solar panels supplying power to a mountain top radio repeater in the Shasta - McCloud Management Unit were stolen within the last two weeks. This repeater is the main communication link between fire suppression resources and the command center. The loss of power to this site will make communication with remote fire crews difficult. If anyone has information on the missing panels, please contact Shasta-Trinity law enforcement at (530)226-2592 or (530)926-9616.
Surface high pressure building in southern Oregon may bring some breezy north winds and lower humidity tonight. A stronger southerly flow develops over the area Thursday ahead of another low pressure system. This one may bring some wetting rains Thursday night and Friday... with a slight chance of thunderstorms.
It is anticipated that the fire will be contained in the next 24 to 48 hours with the use of our current resources. The cause of the fire has been determined as a lightening strike. Additional information www.fs.fed.us/r5/shastatrinity
Basic Information
| Incident Type | Wildland Fire |
|---|---|
| Cause | Lightening |
| Date of Origin | Tuesday September 16th, 2008 aprox 05:58 PM |
| Location | 8 miles SE of McCloud |
| Incident Commander | Ramsey |
Current Situation
| Total Personnel | 189 |
|---|---|
| Size | 25 acres |
| Percent Contained | 100% |
| Estimated Containment Date | Thursday September 18th, 2008 aprox 06:00 PM |
| Fuels Involved | Timber and brush |
| Fire Behavior | Active backing fire through the day with single tree tourching. |
Outlook
| Planned Actions | Crews built handline and plumbed for mop operations. |
|---|---|
| Growth Potential | Low |
| Terrain Difficulty | Terrain is steep and inaccessible with limited road access and multiple drainages. |
