Chetco Bar Fire, Sept. 7

Oregon Dept. Forestry. Weather and Fire Behavior: A red flag warning was in effect through Wednesday for abundant lightning in areas of dry vegetation. New fire starts from lighting, along with gusty and erratic winds near the storm area, are a concern. Embers have the potential to carry up to 1/3 of a mile from the main fire. Improved humidity recovery overnight and a 15 percent chance of wetting rain are predicted for today. While the amount of rain forecast may moderate fire behavior, it would not be enough to extinguish the Chetco Bar Fire.  Tuesday: Firefighters took advantage of the cooler temperatures and increased humidity levels that slowed fire spread on Tuesday. Improved air quality on the western flank gave helicopters more opportunities to perform bucket drops, helping to further slow the spread of the fire. Crews have made good progress and have completed the structure preparation work in the Oak Flats in Josephine County. On the western flank of the fire, crews secured spots from previous day’s fire runs and continue line prep to the north toward Snowcamp.  Wednesday: Line construction continued; connecting dozer lines and roads into the Pistol River. Firefighters were patrolling for spot fires, providing structure protection and maintaining hoselays along firelines. With the help of Dozers, they were also re-establishing containment lines previously used during the Biscuit fire. As weather and fuel moistures allow, firefighters will strengthen containment lines by using fire to consume ground vegetation between the main fire and containment lines. Considerations factored into decisions about burning include resources available, predicted and current weather, and terrain, along with the type and moisture level of vegetation. If the opportunity presents itself today, firefighters will implement this tactic in the Winchuck drainage. Cal Fire resources have begun creating contingency lines to the south in California. Resources will continue to prioritize, contain and mop up spot fires to lessen the threat to values at risk. Northwest Incident Management Team 13 took command of the east side of the fire Wednesday night. Zoning the fire to assign incident management teams to each side will provide opportunities for focused attention in the areas of most concern to communities. Evacuations: Evacuations remain in Curry and Josephine County and will be evaluated daily. Residents are encouraged to monitor the interactive evacuation map for changes: http://arcg.is/2vWQN2N  Shelters: The Red Cross evacuation center is located at the Nazarene Church at 1600 Chetco Ave. in Brookings, OR (541)-600-6068. Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation is also operating a shelter at The Xaa-wan’-k’wvt Village & Resort (old Ship Ashore) RV Park located at 12370 Highway 101 North in Smith River. Closures: Several large wildfires are burning in southwest Oregon. Area closures have been implemented on the Rogue River — Siskyou National Forest and BLM lands. Fire restrictions are in place: http://bit.ly/2erUN5B.