Gnarl Ridge Fire Update 9-27-08
Incident: Gnarl Ridge Wildland Fire
Released: 9/27/2008
Northwest Oregon Interagency Incident Management Team
Carl West, Incident Commander
Gnarl Ridge Fire Daily Update
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Hood River County Sheriff Joe Wampler announced Friday that evacuation notices for the Cooper Spur vicinity, including Mountain Shadows and Snowbird subdivisions, have been reduced to Evacuation Level 1. Residents who have left their homes may now return.
A Level 1 Evacuation Notice advises the public that there may be a need to evacuate, but the danger is not imminent.
Gnarl Ridge Fire Liaison Officer Bob Kathman explained that the paved portion of Cooper Spur Road is now open to the public. "There is still fire activity in the area, so drivers need to be cautious around heavy equipment traveling to and from the fire," said Kathman.
Due to continuing fire activity in the area, the following closures remain in place: Forest Road 3512 (to the Cooper Spur Ski Area, Cloud Cap Inn, and Tilly Jane Campground), Forest Road 2840 near Laurance Lake, Forest Road 3511, and all spurs to the west of Cooper Spur Road and south of Evans Creek Road. Additional closures are listed on the following page.
All roads that access private residences are open to residents and property owners.
Fire crews, aided by high humidity and low temperatures, continue to make good progress toward containing the fire. Fire lines, tied into natural barriers such as glaciers and rock slides, form a perimeter surrounding the entire fire. Mop-up standards recently crafted by the Mt. Hood National Forest will require that crews extinguish all heat up to 300 feet in from established firelines before containment is achieved.
Over the next several days the temperature is projected to climb and humidity to drop. "This weather will increase fire activity," warned Deputy Incident Commander Pam Ensley. "A fire just to the south, on the Deschutes National Forest, is burning actively and spotting out ahead, so we are not 'out of the woods' yet."
Firefighters will begin scrubbing off Cloud Cap Inn today in an attempt to remove most of the remaining retardant that saved it from burning.
Fire at a Glance (9/27/08)
Size: 3285 acres
Cause: Lightning on August 7th.
Location: 18 miles south of Hood River, OR and 7 miles south of Parkdale, OR
Evacuations: None
Containment: 50%
Expected Containment: 10/15/2008
Crews and Equipment:
Dozers: 4
Crews: 9 Type 1
10 Type 2
Helicopters: 2 Type 1 (Heavy Lift)
1 Type 2 (Medium Lift)
1 Type 3 (Light)
Engines: 29
Total personnel: 774
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.
