Hot, dry weather fuels fires SE of Oakridge
OAKRDIGE, Ore. -- As hot, dry weather sets in over the Central Cascades, fire managers expect a cluster of forest fires to grow even larger as nearly 600 people mount an attack on the flames.
"This week's weather will cause the fire to spread," said Carl West, who assumed command of the Tumblebug Complex of fires 24 miles southeast of Oakridge. "We will aggressively attack when and where we can safely do so, and use contingency lines with burnout in the future as a fallback."
Winds pushed the fires Sunday afternoon and Monday morning as relative humidities dropped, increasing fire growth. The fire crossed handlines on the south side, with movement to the west expected Monday.
Acreage is difficult to estimate, fire managers said. Fire managers estimate total fire acreage is 518 with only 10 percent of the fire area under containment.
An infrared flight over the fire late Sunday night detected significant hot spots outside the established fire line on the south side of the fire.
Forecasters called for gusts up to 22 mph in the fire area even as humidity levels dropped into the single digits, priming the area. Firefighters are prepared to move quickly away from the fire area if they observe rapidly changing fire behavior that could compromise safety, according to fire managers.
Closures/Restrictions:
The following Forest Roads are closed: 2144, 2153-370, 2153-375, 2153-369, 2144-305, 2143-311.
An area closure is in effect. The complete description and a map of the area is posted on the incident website.
Sacandaga Campground is the spike camp for 100+ firefighters and is therefore not available to the public.
