Pole Creek Fire Grows
Incident: Pole Creek Wildfire
Released: 9/10/2012
Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center
4550 SW Airport Way
Prineville, OR 97754
FIRE NEWS Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center
For Immediate Release: September 10, 2012 10:30 am
Contact: Media Desk, 541/416-6811 www.fs.fed.us/r6/centraloregon/fire
Pole Creek Fire Grows
Sisters, Ore - Firefighters continue to battle the Pole Creek Fire located 6 miles southwest of Sisters. Currently the fire is estimated to be around 2,000 acres. Fire managers have acknowledged that growth potential for the fire is extreme due to weather forecasts and fuels. Winds are a concern today with forecasts for winds up to 25 mph until 6pm tonight. This is a fuel driven fire with heavy down and dead material. Safety for the public and firefighters is the number one priority because of the high exposure to snags and bug kill timber. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
A successful burnout operation was conducted on the south side Sunday evening in an attempt to secure a portion of the fire and give firefighters a safe anchor point from which to strengthen their efforts. Currently there are various resources responding to the Pole Creek fire. A Type II team will assume command by 8pm this evening. The fire camp will be set up at the Sisters Rodeo grounds today.
Highway 242 will reopen at 9:30am today. Safety for the public and firefighters is the number one priority because of the high exposure to snags and bug kill timber.An emergency area closure is in place south of Hwy 242 (McKenzie pass) following the Deschutes County line west then south near three creek lake and east to Forest Service (FS) road 4606. The Pacific Crest trail shall remain open. The area closure information is attached.
A community meeting is scheduled for 6pm this evening at the Sisters Elementary School located at 611 E Cascade Avenue. The pre-evacuation notice is still in place. For more information on the status of evacuations please call 541-550-4886 for the most up to date information.
For more information and updates on the Pole Creek fire, visit the InciWeb website at: http://inciweb.org/indicent/3244/.
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