Weather and Fire Behavior:
Warm, dry weather with clear skies is expected through the week. Winds will remain out of the west, moving in an easterly direction.
Fire is burning in very heavy surface fuels, including rotten logs, branch wood and deep duff under a timber canopy. The timber understory is made up of Douglas fir, western hemlock, and western red cedar. Following the rains over the weekend, current fire behavior includes widespread smoldering and creeping. Strategic firing operations will be implemented in the coming days as the weather warms up to secure the fire’s edge to control lines before the fuels dry out too much or high winds materialize.
Operations:
Recent cool and moist weather has dampened fire activity, thereby allowing firefighters a favorable window to remove trees along roads, take out ladder fuels (i.e., liches, mosses, shrubs, lower limbs of trees), install water systems, and mop-up the fire’s edge where firefighters were able to go direct or conduct firing operations to bring the main fire to our control lines. These actions contributed to containment – as indicated by the black line – on portions of Forest Service Roads 1210, 14 and 12. Crews will continue to mop up, which means removing any heat along the containment line, when fire meets these areas.
Firefighters are always looking ahead and planning for numerous scenarios at any given time. They are currently working on prepping the 1211 Road by removing ladder fuels using masticators and other fire equipment to establish indirect control lines which will be burned out if needed to secure the east flank. Contingency work is ongoing to the southeast of the fire. Fuels will be removed along old logging roads using masticators and feller bunches. This action will open up roads to act as a fuel break or contingency lines if needed.
Fire information officers will be stationed at the Hoodland Senior Center in Welches, OR at 1:00 p.m. this afternoon to provide updates and answer questions. A community meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. today at the Mt. Hood Lions Club in Welches, OR. We will attempt to livestream the meeting on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/campcreekfire.
Additional Information:
Current smoke outlook: https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook/2c7a8f9b.
Closures and Evacuations:
Barlow Wayside Park and the Sandy Ridge Recreation Site are temporarily closed due to fire activity. Clackamas County residents can sign up at https://www.clackamas.us/dm/publicalerts to receive emergency alerts via email, phone, or text.
Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR):
A TFR is issued over the fire area, which excludes public drone use. If you fly a drone over a fire, air operations could be suspended until the risk of a mid-air collision with a drone is resolved.
Safety:
Please exercise caution while driving as there are engines and other fire equipment on the road along with school buses now that school is back in session.