Umpqua North Complex Update Tuesday, September 5, 2017 Fire Information Line: 541-378-6944 Date started: August 11, 2017 Cause: Lightning Size: 29,544 acres Total Complex Containment: 23% Structures Destroyed: 0 Firefighter injuries to date: 1 Total Personnel: 1,005 Fire Resources: 20 crews, 77 engines, 5 helicopters, 15 bulldozers, 24 water tenders Current Information: Winds have been primarily shifting out of the east at night and areas above 2,500 feet experience active fire behavior overnight. The fire backed down to the North Umpqua River overnight near the Eagle Rock campground. The fire area is experiencing roll out of rocks and other material once fire moves through an area. Interior tree torching occurred early evening yesterday on the Fall Creek Fire. Firefighters utilized favorable burning conditions to fire approximately one mile of line yesterday. Night operations continued the firing, working to tie in the Brokentooth Fire and the Happy Dog Fire. Suppression actions continued yesterday on the Devil Fire as crews worked towards complete containment. Mop up and securing operations continue on the Fall Creek Fire today, which is expected to be secured within the next 48 hours. North Umpqua Complex’s fire behavior is primarily driven by weather and displays low to moderate activity due to the smoke from this Complex as well as the fires to the southeast. The fire will become more active if the inversion lifts and the smoke clears. There is a Fire Weather Watch in effect for Wednesday with scattered lightning predicted over the fire. Thursday will likely bring rain to the region and the fire area may see as much as 2/10 of an inch of rain on Thursday. Today’s operational priorities are securing the Highway 138 East corridor, the Brokentooth Fire and the west zone of the Complex, which includes the Fall Creek, Happy Dog and Ragged Ridge fires. Information on smoke can be found on the Oregon smoke blog at http://oregonsmoke.blogspot.com/. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office has information on emergency preparedness services including how to register your cell phone via the Citizen Emergency Notification System at http://dcso.com/. Evacuations: Level 1 Evacuation Notice “Be Ready” for the Clearwater area along Highway 138 East from Mile Marker 56 to Mile Marker 61. Level 2 Evacuation Notice “Be Set” for Dry Creek, Illahee areas and Slide Creek along Highway 138 East from Mile Marker 53 to 56. Road Closures: Highway 138 E is closed from mile markers 47 to 54 due to hazardous trees and debris falling onto the roadway as well as the possibility of increased fire activity near the road corridor. There is no detour around the road closure and it is recommended the public plan an alternate travel route prior to departing home. The Umpqua National Forest remains closed in areas of the North Umpqua and Diamond Lake Ranger Districts. The North Umpqua River remains closed to boaters and anglers from Boulder Flat Raft Launch to Susan Creek Campground due to falling trees and rolling debris except for a short stretch of river near the Steamboat Inn that is open to fishing. For more information on forest closures see Public Notices at http://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/Umpqua/alerts-notices. The latest Umpqua North Complex Information can be found at: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5505/