Pole Creek Fire Update - September 14 - 9 PM
Incident: Pole Creek Wildfire
Released: 9/14/2012
POLE CREEK FIRE UPDATE
OREGON INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM 4
DESCHUTES NATIONAL FOREST
As expected, the estimated 7,000 acre Pole Creek Fire continued to respond actively today to higher afternoon temperatures, lower humidity and a strong westerly wind. Smoke columns formed to almost 28,000 feet as fire behavior tested containment lines. Fire growth occurred both north and south within the wilderness. The fire breached lines on the northwest fire perimeter causing suppression resources to establish a new containment line near Forest Road 1026.
Incident Management will conduct two informational briefings at the Sisters Preparedness Fair at the Sisters Elementary School on Saturday September 15th. Briefings will be at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Fire Information Officers will also staff a booth from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Fair.
Smoke is likely to remain in the greater Sisters area as it settles at night into valleys and drainages. County Health Officials advise that people with respiratory problems or other health issues stay indoors with windows and doors closed during periods of heavy smoke. Visit the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) at http://www.deq.state.or.us/aq/burning/wildfires/index.htm, for more information on air quality, along with tools to help people assess smoke levels in their area.
For firefighter and public safety, the current closure area has been modified to include the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) between Trail #3531(Four in One Cone) and the PCT Trailhead on Highway 242. Information will be posted at all trailheads and access points from Elk Lake Trailhead north to Santiam Pass. PCT hikers will have a reroute option using the Scott Trail traveling west to Highway 242.
The closure still includes Forest Roads 15 & 16 (Three Creeks Rd); spur roads, trailheads and the Three Creeks Campground area. It now also includes an extension of Forest Road 370 to Forest Road 4601. Closed roads are signed, barricaded, and/or staffed to advise the public of the closure. Closure maps and area descriptions are available at Deschutes National Forest offices as well as http://inciweb.org
ACREAGE: 7,000 Acres (estimated)
CONTAINMENT: 10%
CAUSE: Unknown - Under Investigation
RESOURCES: TOTAL = 821 ·
Type 1 Crews - 4; Dozers - 4; Water Tenders - 14; Helicopters - 8
Type 2 Crews - 15; Engines - 32; Camp Crews - 2; Overhead - 187
·As of Friday eve
PLANS: Hold containment lines on the northeast, east, south, and southeast; mopup; and look for spots. Reestablish the containment line on the northwest near Forest Road 1026. Continue building the east-west handline along the Millican Crater trail. Continue to establish the containment line along Forest Road 16; anchoring to Forest Road 16, recon and establish an east-west containment line to the old Park Meadow fire.
FORECASTED FIRE WEATHER: Temperatures in the 50s, humidity 25-28%, and winds diminishing late overnight.
COOPERATORS: Deschutes County Sheriff, Deschutes County SAR, City of Sisters, Sisters/Camp Sherman Fire District, Black Butte Ranch RFPD, Cloverdale FD, Oregon Department of Forestry, American Red Cross, Oregon Department of Transportation
