July 24, 2021 Elbow Creek Fire Spotlight

 CURRENT FIRE SIZE AS OF 7/24/21 IR FLIGHT                                     21,928 ACRES

CURRENT FIRE CONTAINMENT                                                                                   25%

LAST NIGHT AND TODAY:

Night operations were successful. No substantial growth of the fire was observed. Overall things are going well with no major concerns for today’s operations. Crews continue to work on “Plan B” contingency lines, tightening them up and making sure that they are secure. “Anchor, flank, pinch” is the phrase of the day.

Anchor: An advantageous location, usually a barrier to fire spread, from which to start constructing a fire line. The anchor point is used to minimize the chance of being flanked by the fire while the line is being constructed.

Flank: Attacking a fire by working along the flanks either simultaneously or successively from a less active or anchor point and endeavoring to connect two lines at the head.

Pinch: To cut off. Pinching two control lines together.

Fire crews are also taking advantages of small burnout operations, increasing containment line security by removing unburned fuels between the line and the main fire.

The fire now has eight helicopters assigned. Two of which are Type 1 (700 to 3,000 gallons) Blackhawks from the Oregon National Guard.