Gnarl Ridge Fire Update 9-25-08
Incident: Gnarl Ridge Wildland Fire
Released: 9/25/2008
Northwest Oregon Interagency Incident Management Team
Carl West, Incident Commander
Gnarl Ridge Fire Daily Update
Thursday, September 25, 2008
There was no growth in the size of the Gnarl Ridge Fire yesterday. Firefighters continued to build line and mop up hot spots, surrounded by many hazards such as falling green and dead trees, narrow roads, and rolling rocks. On Tuesday night a boulder the size of a small car rolled down a hill and landed in the middle of the road to Cloud Cap Inn, causing one engine and crew to be blocked from leaving the fireline. By mid morning Wednesday, heavy equipment had moved the boulder, the engine crew was able to return to camp, and fire vehicles once again had access to the fire lines.
Rain started to fall on the fire Wednesday afternoon, and gusty winds are possible today. "This rain will definitely slow the fire down for a day or two," said Roddy Bauman, Fire Behavior Analyst for the Northwest Oregon Incident Management Team. "As the rain falls horizontally, pushed by up to 30 MPH winds, it is penetrating the tree canopy and beginning to wet the fuels on the ground." One remote access weather station in the fire area recorded almost a half inch of rain by 6 AM today. In the Cooper Spur area, a third of an inch had fallen in the same time period.
Bauman cautioned, however, that the fire will not be easy to extinguish due to burning roots in the soil and the dense duff above the soil that has been compacted by winter snows.
Pam Ensley, Deputy Incident Commander, agreed with Bauman. "This is a stubborn fire, and we want to take advantage of the excellent resources we have on hand to corral it so that it will no longer endanger private property and other valued resources. A warming and drying trend is coming, so let's put this fire away as soon as possible."
Mop-up work has begun on four divisions along the east side of the fire. Crews are using hand-held infra-red detectors to locate hidden hot spots for firefighters to extinguish.
On Wednesday, more than 400 students from Wy'East Middle School toured the Incident Command Fire Camp, which is adjacent to their school grounds. Interactive sessions exposed the students to firefighting tools and equipment, science and math, and career opportunities.
A community meeting is scheduled for tonight in the Parkdale Community Center at 7 PM.
Fire at a Glance (9/25/08)
Size: 3280 acres
Cause: Lightning on August 7th.
Location:
18 miles south of Hood River, OR and 7 miles south of Parkdale, OR
Evacuations: 18 homes
Containment: 30%
Expected Containment: 10/15/2008
Crews and Equipment:
Dozers: 6
Crews: 9 Type 1
10 Type 2
Helicopters: 4 Type 1 (Heavy Lift)
2 Type 2 (Medium Lift)
2 Type 3 (Light)
Engines: 33
Total personnel: 809
Closures:
For complete closure information, please see Page 2 of this update.
Contact Us:
For additional information, please contact us at the Gnarl Ridge Incident Command Post (ICP), Hood River County Fairgrounds, daily from 7am-9pm, at (541) 354-1836.
Additional Gnarl Ridge fire information is available online at http://www.inciweb.org/.
EMERGENCY FIRE CLOSURE
Until further notice the following campgrounds, trails and roads on the Mt. Hood National Forest are closed due to activity from the Gnarl Ridge Fire:
Tilly Jane Campground
- Cloud Cap Campground
- Kinnikinnick Campground (Laurance Lake)
- Little John Sno·Park
Red Hill Road #16 and associated spurs
- Cloud Cap Road #3512
- Forest Road 3520 and associated spurs
- Forest Road 2840 and associated spurs (Laurance Lake Road)
- Forest Road 3511 and associated spurs
- Forest Road 1811
- Forest Road 1810-640
Timberline Trail #600 from the intersection with the Newton Creek Trail #646 north and west to intersection with the McGee Creek Trail #627
- East Fork Trail #650
- Bluegrass Ridge Trail #647
- Cooper Spur Trail #600-B
- Elk Meadows Trail #645 north of the intersection with the Newton Creek Trail
- Elk Meadows Perimeter Trail#645-A
- Lamberson Spur Trail #644
- Gnarl Ridge Trail #652
- Polallie Ridge #643
- Tamanawas Falls Trail #650-A
- Tamanawas Tie Trail #650-B
- Wagon Road #642
- Tilly Jane Trail #448
- Tilly Jane Trail #600-A
- Tilly Jane Trail #643
- Elk Cove Trail #631
- Pinnacle Ridge Trail #639
- Vista Ridge Trail # 626
- Mazama Trail #625 (a.k.a. Cathedral Ridge Trail)
For additional closure information please contact the Hood River Ranger District, during business hours, Monday through Friday, at 541-352-6002.
