Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Morning Update Central Oregon Fire Information
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Oregon Smoke Information: 7 Day Significant Fire Potential
It's shaping up to be a busy fire season.
Oregon Smoke Information: 7 Day Significant Fire Potential
Monday, June 22, 2015
PUBLIC USE RESTRICTIONS (PURs) IN EFFECT TODAY
Public Use Restrictions Enacted TODAY to Help Prevent Summer Wildfires
Today, the Board of County Commissioners passed a resolution to impose public use restrictions and declaring a state of emergency under the current dry and dangerous wild land fire conditions. The restrictions are aimed at preventing human-caused summer wildfires on all unprotected lands, and Deschutes County-owned lands throughout the County. The restrictions are in place immediately and are anticipated to last through mid-October.
Unprotected lands are defined as unincorporated lands outside of Rural Fire Protection Districts, and outside of lands receiving fire protection by the Oregon Department of Forestry. The Oregon Department of Forestry enacted similar regulations that went into effect June 19, 2015. An interactive map that land owners can look at see the regulations and to determine if regulations apply to their own property is available at https://maps.deschutes.org/custom/basic/PublicUseRestrictions.html.
The resolution includes the following public use restrictions:
1. Smoking is prohibited while traveling, except in vehicles on improved roads.
2. Open fires are prohibited, including campfires, charcoal fires, cooking fires and warming fires, except in designated areas. Portable cooking stoves using liquefied or bottled fuels are allowed.
3. Chainsaw use is prohibited, between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Chainsaw use is permitted at all other hours, if the following firefighting equipment is present with each operating saw: one axe, one shovel, and one 8 ounce or larger fire extinguisher. In addition, a fire watch is required at least one hour following the use of each saw.
4. Cutting, grinding and welding of metal is prohibited between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. At all other times the area is to be cleared of flammable vegetation and the following fire equipment is required: one axe, one shovel, and one 2 ½ pound or larger fire extinguisher in good working order.
5. Use of motor vehicles, including motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles, is prohibited, except on improved roads and except for vehicle use by a landowner and employees of the landowner upon their own land while conducting activities associated with their livelihood.
6. Possession of the following firefighting equipment is required while traveling in a motorized vehicle, except on federal and state highways, county roads and driveways: one shovel and one gallon of water or one 2½ pound or larger fire extinguisher, except all-terrain vehicles and
motorcycles which must be equipped with an approved spark arrestor in good working condition.
7. Mowing of dried grass with power driven equipment is prohibited, between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., except for the commercial culture and harvest of agricultural crops.
8. Use of fireworks is prohibited.
9. The release of sky lanterns is prohibited.
10. The discharging of exploding targets or tracer ammunition is prohibited.
11. Blasting is prohibited.
12. Any electric fence controller in use shall be: a) Listed by a nationally recognized testing laboratory or be certified by the Department of Consumer and Business Services; and b) Operated in compliance with manufacturer's instructions.
Information and maps of regulated closures for the Oregon Department of Forestry can be found at the following website: http://www.oregon.gov/ODF/centraloregon/pages/index.aspx
Information and maps of public use restrictions on Deschutes National Forest can be found at the following website: http://www.fs.usda.gov/centraloregon.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Wildfire in the West: Forthcoming Legislation to Keep an Eye On
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Oregon & National Fire News
Ever wonder where to get up to date fire information for your area, check out Inciweb! You can select your state to see all active incidents in your area. Click on the link below for fire info.
http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/
Friday, June 12, 2015
Close Call in Shevlin Park Reminds Residents to Prepare Now
Update on the Shevlin Fire
Crews are expected remain on scene through Friday to ensure that there are no flare ups. Drivers are urged to use caution in the area, as there will still be some large firefighting equipment moving around the scene.
The fire, which started near the Tumalo Irrigation intake on Tumalo Creek, within the confines of Shevlin Park, burned 8-10 acres before being controlled by crews from Bend Fire, Oregon Department of Forestry, BLM and the Deschutes National Forest. A BLM helicopter provided several water drops and a large air tanker circled the scene for about an hour before finally being released from the area.
A mutual aid task force from departments around the county were requested and dispatched. These units patrolled through the subdivisions to the south of the fire.
During the incident, Shevlin Park Road was closed near McClain Road and three subdivisions south of the park were placed on a Level 1 Evacuation advisory. At the height if the incident, it is estimated that 90 people were on scene, although the number was reduced to 40 overnight, after the fire was contained.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Evening update from Central Oregon Dispatch
Firefighters picked up six new wildfires today across Central Oregon, making a total of 17 wildfire incidents reported since Tuesday morning.
Most of those fires are small, lightning-caused wildfires with fire suppression responses underway.
A fire reported around 1:30 p.m. today at Shevlin Park in Bend was estimated at 8 to 10 acres with no new growth expected at the time of this update. Multiple agencies responded to the brush fire on state-administered land and a Level 1 pre-evacuation notice was issued to adjacent neighborhoods by Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office.
Visit Deschutes County’s Facebook pages for the latest Shevlin Fire news tonight:
Deschutes County main page: www.facebook.com/Deschutes.County
9-1-1: www.facebook.com/Deschutes911<http://www.facebook.com/Deschutes911>
Crews today made significant progress on two lightning-caused wildfires located on private and BLM-administered lands near Twickenham, approximately 14 miles southeast of Fossil, Ore. Incident 169 is about 150 acres and completely surrounded by retardant line. Interior burning continues to produce smoke but firefighters anticipate no new growth on the fire.
Incident 177, located nearby, remains estimated at 50 acres. Fire crews and a helicopter dropping retardant continue to build a line around the fire.
Both fires are burning in juniper, grass, and brush fuel types across steep terrain and drainages.
On the Deschutes National Forest, firefighters have completed a line around a 25-acre wildfire burning in steep timber and brush approximately 9 miles west of Sunriver and 10 miles south of Mt. Bachelor.
The fire is determined to be human-caused, but there is no more information available at this time.
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Evening update from Central Oregon Dispatch
Firefighters in Central Oregon are currently responding to multiple incidents, many the result of recent lightning activity that accompanied yesterday’s thunderstorms across the region.
The largest incident is a 100-acre lightning-caused wildfire near Twickenham, approximately 14 miles southeast of Fossil, Ore. Incident 177 is burning in juniper, grass and brush fuels on both private and BLM-administered land. The fire suppression response includes multiple engines and smokejumpers.
On the Deschutes National Forest, firefighters are responding to Incident 172, approximately 9 miles west of Sunriver and 10 miles south of Mt. Bachelor. The 7-acre fire is burning in timber and brush. Multiple firefighters are hiking into the fire and a Type 2 helicopter is in response. Cause of the fire is undetermined.
Firefighters are currently responding to multiple other, small, lightning-caused single-tree fires across the Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests and the Prineville BLM.
The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag warning for much of Central Oregon, to remain in effect through 8pm Friday. A Red Flag warning indicates a high likelihood for critical fire weather behavior, which includes strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures.