Crockets Knob Fire Update - Sept. 7, 2022

 NORTHWEST INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM 12 

Incident Commanders: Jeff Dimke and Bobby Shindelar  

September 7, 2022 

A community meeting will take place tonight at 6 PM at the Prairie City Park and will also be live streamed on the fire’s Facebook page. 

Weather:  A red flag warning has been issued for the fire area today due to hot, dry and windy conditions. High winds will start early in the day with gust up to 30 mph, and there is a chance of thunderstorms, which could cause erratic winds up to 40 mph. Temperatures will be in the mid-90s this afternoon, and relative humidity is expected to drop down to around 15%.  

Operations: Yesterday firefighters made good progress mopping up containment lines on the southern edge of the fire. Crews also continued to mop up along the FSR 45 and FSR 537. Heavy equipment continued improving potential contingency line along FSR 45, north of FSR 537. Spot fires west of FSR 45 continued to be mopped up and secured. Crews worked on the northeastern and eastern flanks of the fire to secure pockets of subalpine spruce and other vegetation. Rocky conditions and patchy fuels have limited fire growth in the Greenhorn Mountains area. Helicopters supported firefighters on the northeastern and eastern edges with water bucket drops to cool areas of heat and add moisture to the fuels to slow fire growth.    

Due to today’s red flag warning, firefighters will be extra vigilant to hold and defend containment lines and ensure firefighter and public safety. Containment lines along the southern edge of the fire and FSR 45 will continue to be monitored, mopped up and secured. Crews will focus on northeast flanks directly constructing lines around clumps of burned subalpine fir, brush and grass to prevent the fire from spreading beyond these pockets of vegetation. Helicopters will continue to support firefighters in this area. 

Closures and Evacuations:  Grant County has issued a Level One evacuation advisory in the area of the fire. Level One means be ready and aware of fire conditions. You can view a map of the evacuation zone on the Grant County Emergency Management Facebook page. A closure is in effect on the Malheur and Umatilla National Forests today. For complete closure information, please go to:  https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/malheur/notices/?cid=STELPRD3845529   

Smoke may be visible to nearby communities and Forest visitors. Smoke and air quality impacts within the state can be monitored by visiting: http://oregonsmoke.blogspot.com 

Quick Facts: 

• SIZE:    4,305 Acres 
• CONTAINMENT: 25% 
• CAUSE: Lightning 
• PERSONNEL: 655 
• LOCATION: 19 miles north of Prairie City 

FIRE INFORMATION:  

541-625-0892 

2022.crocketsknob@firenet.gov  

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/CrocketsKnobFire  

INCIWEB: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8355/  

TEMPORARY FLIGHT RESTRICTION 

There is a Temporary Flight Restriction over the Crockets Knob Fire area. Wildfires are a No Drone Zone - if you fly, we can’t.