Baker County Joint Info Center - Morning Update, Monday Aug 17th.

Baker County, Oregon
Joint Information Center

Cornet/Windy Ridge, Eagle Complex, and Eldorado Fires

Morning Update

August 17, 2015 10 AM

Contact Information

Fire and Evacuation Information: (541) 523-2905

Email: BakerCoJointInfo@gmail.com

http://bluemountainfireinfo.blogspot.com

Facebook:        https://www.facebook.com/CornetFire

https://www.facebook.com/ElDoradoFire2015

https://www.facebook.com/EagleComplex2015

Inciweb:           http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4478/ (Cornet)

http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4497/ (Windy Ridge)

http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4502/ (El Dorado)

http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4481/ (Eagle Complex)

Incident Commanders:

Southwest Incident Management Team-Mark Ruggiero (Cornet/Windy Ridge)

Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office-Ted Kunze (Cornet/Windy Ridge)

Oregon Department of Forestry Team III-Link Smith (Eldorado)

Albuquerque Zone Type 3 Team-Ryan Romero (Eagle Complex)

**Eagle Complex Public Meeting will be held on Monday, Aug 17^th, at 3:00pm at the Baker City Nazarene Church Gymnasium**

Cornet Windy Ridge Fire: Burnout operations today will occur on Woods Gulch Road and Burnt Canyon Road to prevent fire from spreading to the east.  Smoke will be visible from I-84. 

Weather: Dry cold front will pass through on Monday and increase winds are expected during afternoon and evening burn periods. Moderate weather conditions through Monday, including high temps 78-83 degrees and winds 5-8mph and gusts to 15mph.

Media Advisory: Media are requested to call the Joint Information Center number listed above.

Road Closures: Highway 245 still closed 11 miles north of Hereford. Drivers are urged to check highway conditions on tripcheck.com.

Shelters: As of 10:00 a.m. today, the American Red Cross has placed its shelter at the Baker City Nazarene Church at 1250 Hughes Lane into stand-by status.  Red Cross shelter workers remain in place to reopen the shelter if requested by individuals affected by the area wildfires or as needed in response to changes in fire activity and/or evacuation notices. Red Cross nurses are available for evacuees that need medical attention. Red Cross personnel are working with other local organizations to assist affected Baker County citizens meet their short-term and long-term recovery needs.  For more information on Red Cross activities or to request Red Cross sheltering and/or recovery assistance, call 541-519-2360.

Oregon Health Authority – Smoke Information: Weather conditions and smoke levels can vary dramatically during wildfires, not only from one day to the next but on an hourly basis. Smoke may also impact one portion of a community but not another. This can make it difficult to provide any specific health advisories, especially as conditions change so quickly. For more information please see: http://oregonsmoke.blogspot.com/

Recreation Areas: Regulated closures are in effect on State and private lands protected by Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) in northeast and central Oregon. Please check with your local Oregon Department of Forestry office for public use restrictions on lands protected by ODF. Visit the Blue Mountain Interagency Dispatch webpage at: www.bmidc.org or contact a local Oregon Department of Forestry office for more complete information. Similar restrictions may be in effect on State and private lands protected by the Washington Department of Natural Resources (WA-DNR). More information can be found on the WA-DNR website at: http://fortress.wa.gov/dnr/firedanger/BurnRisk.aspx.

Eagle Complex

Current Situation:  The Eagle Complex is currently estimated at 2,217 acres. Most of the growth yesterday took place in the southeast section of the fire in the Bradley Creek area. Today, firefighters will continue their structure protection efforts on the Eagle Complex. Crews will improve and hold the west and southwest sides of the fire and continue efforts to prevent the fire from turning north into East Eagle Creek. Aviation resources plan to resume assisting firefighters’ efforts to slow fire progress as conditions allow. Weather today is expected to be warm and dry, with increased warming and drying expected later this week. Rocky Mountain Team Black, U.S. Forest Service , and the Oregon Department of Forestry will hold a community briefing this afternoon at3:00 at the Red Cross shelter at 1250 Hughes Lane to provide updates on current conditions and planned operations.

Area Fire Closures: There is an area closure in effect for the Eagle Complex near Main Eagle, East Eagle, Tamarack Campground and Two Color Campground. Please see the link to the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest Website http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/wallowa-whitman/home.

Public Safety: No Level 1 or 3. Level 2 (Set): FS 77 Rd. Bennett Peak Area, main Eagle Area, Tamarack Campground. Level 3 (Go): East Eagle to Blue Canyon

Additional Info: Eagle Complex Public Meeting will be held on Monday, Aug 17th, at 3:00pm at the Baker City Nazarene Church Gymnasium

Eldorado

Current Situation: Firefighters are making good progress on the Eldorado Fire despite working with half the personnel and equipment for a fire this size. The fire is currently 20.237 acres and 10 percent contained. Overnight crews removed fuel around a few structures and strengthened containment lines along the southern and western portions of the fire.

“Normally, on a fire this size over 300 firefighters would be constructing containment lines,” said Marvin Vetter, Operations Section Chief. “However, because of the many wildfires burning throughout the West the Eldorado Fire team is doing all it can with its limited resources.”

Today’s plan includes using hand crews to connect containment lines started by bull dozers on the northwest side of the fire. On the southwest corner of the fire crews anticipate building containment lines to help keep the fire on the east side of Ironside Mountain. Stronger winds are forecasted over the next few days that will challenge established containment lines and increase fire behavior.

Area Fire Closures: No area fire closures are in place.

Public Safety: The following evacuation level notifications remain in effect. Level 1 (Ready): Shirts Creek; Job Creek and south of Job Creek Road; East of Bull Run Road; and south of Campbell Lane. Level 2 (Set): Dry Gulch area and Ripley Gulch area. Level 3 (Go): Beam Creek area; Eldorado Ditch area; Long Creek area (Baker County); Long Creek Reservoir; and Camp Creek south of Highway 26 and Ironside (Malheur County).

Additional Info: More information about evacuations available at: http://tinyurl.com/Evacuation-Level-Meaning

Cornet/Windy Ridge Complex

Current Situation:  Burnout operations today will occur on Woods Gulch Road and Burnt Canyon Road to prevent fire from spreading to the east.  Smoke will be visible from I-84.  The crews will be prepping the Stices Gulch Community today for future re-entry of evacuated residents to their homes and properties.  Highway 245 remains closed for continued felling of trees on the road shoulders, repair of guardrails and clearing of road debris by a motor grader.  Due to yesterday’s favorable weather conditions, aerial resources were used to assist with the firefighting efforts.  Crews continue to build containment lines around the perimeter of the fire.  Crews are also patrolling and mopping around structures and the edge of the fire line.  Today’s weather conditions are sunny with 7 to 9 mph wind gusts on the north half of the fire and afternoon northwest 5 to 9 mph with gusts to 18 mph in the afternoon. 

Area Fire Closures: A forest closure order is in place for the area around the Cornet/Windy Ridge Fire. Please see the link to the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest Website http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/wallowa-whitman/home. OR-245 remains closed. As of this morning, Highways- 7 and Interstate-84 are open.

Public Safety: the public should be cautious when driving; crews and equipment are working near and along the roads, and smoke may hinder visibility. Level 1 (Ready): Old Auburn Ln, Durkee, and Bridgeport. Level 2 (Get Set): Hill Creek Rd., Hixon Rd., Pleasant Valley, Troy Rd., Sutton Creek, French Gulch, Greater Bowen Valley Rural Fire to French Gulch and Hill Creek Rd. Level 3 (Go): Beaver Creek, Black Mountain, Denny Creek, Alder Creek, Burnt River Canyon, Dry Creek, Dry Creek Cutoff, Ebell Creek, Kitchen Creek, Rancheria Creek and Stices Gulch.

Additional Info: None at this time.

Fire Statistics
	Total Acres:	Percent Contained:	Cause:	Start Date:
Eagle Complex	2,007	0%	Lightning	August 10, 2015
Eldorado	20,237	10%	Undetermined	August 14, 2015
Cornet/Windy Ridge	96,762	30%	Lightning	August 10, 2015
	Structures Lost:	Short Location:
Eagle Complex	0	20 Miles northwest of Richland, Oregon
Eldorado	0	5 Miles southeast of Unity, Oregon
Cornet/Windy Ridge	8	10 Miles East of Unity Oregon
	# Personnel:	Types of Resources:
Eagle Complex	140	INFORMATION NOT AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME
Eldorado	201	CREWS: 4, ENGINES: 12, DOZERS: 7, HELICOPTERS: 1, AIR TANKERS: 0
Cornet/Windy Ridge	628	CREWS: 19, ENGINES: 34, DOZERS: `12, HELICOPTERS: 4, AIR TANKERS: 0