Nearly 15,000 Acres Consumed by 23 Fires Burning in Six Rivers National Forest, According to Forest Service

This is a press release from the U.S. Forest Service:

United States Forest Service USFSEUREKA, California, August 23, 2017 – The Six Rivers National Forest currently has the Orleans Complex consisting of 19 fires; the Ruth Complex consisting of three fires; and the Young Fire on the Gasquet Ranger District in the Siskiyou Wilderness. Firefighter and public safety is our number one priority.

Orleans Complex: The Orleans Complex has 19 fires for a total of 8,621 acres. Thirteen fires have been contained. Six fires remain active: the Ukonom at 3,982 acres (52% contained); the Haypress at 3,001 (0% contained); the Burney at 1,303 (0% contained); the Forks at 243 acres (0% containment); the Frank at 27 acres (0% contained); and the Hooligan at 0.1 acres (0% contained. Active fires are being fought using a combination of containment and confinement strategies.

Firefighters on the Orleans Complex took advantage of favorable weather overnight and were able to conduct a tactical firing operation to remove unburned fuels along Forest Road 15N17. The operation is intended to help confine the Haypress Fire to areas where private property and natural and cultural resources are not threatened. The crew in the Wooley Creek area of the Marble Mountain Wilderness continues to work to hold the fire north of the creek.

Both the Ukonom and Haypress fires saw modest growth over the past 24 hours.  Smoke has been heavy over the area in recent days, preventing firefighters from using helicopters to assist in firefighting operations.  Smoke conditions have improved somewhat and fire managers hope to make retardant and water drops today on areas of active burning on the west side of the Ukonom Fire.

The NorCal Team 2 Incident Management Team will take over management of the Orleans Complex from SoCal Team 3 on Thursday morning.

Ruth Complex: The complex consists of three fires for a total of 4,736 acres, 97% contained: Willie (3,141 acres, 95% contained), Dutchman (1,545 acres, 100% contained), and Secret (50 acres, 100%).

A local Type 4 organization from the Mad River Ranger District of the Six Rivers NF took over management of this complex yesterday. Crews will continue to secure and strengthen containment lines, perform suppression repair work, as well as patrol and monitor the contained fires.

Young Fire: The Young Fire (1,950 acres) is being managed under a confinement strategy for firefighter safety due to remote location and difficult terrain.  The south end around Twin Peaks and the north end by Rocky Knob are active. The fire is on the Gasquet Ranger District is in the Siskiyou Wilderness but has now spread onto the Klamath National Forest on the north and south perimeters of the fire. Helicopter water bucket work along the northern perimeter will take place today, if the air is clear, to keep the fire in check.  A 20 person crew will begin to work the Doe Creek Trail to keep the Young Fire from extending south beyond that trail.  Trailhead and trails leading in the area have been closed due to fire activity; see Closures.

Closures: The Ten Bear Trailhead leading to the Marble Mountain Wilderness is closed. Hikers wanting to access the wilderness should contact the Orleans Ranger District Office at 530-627-3291 or Orleans Complex Fire Information at 619-359-3415 for details on affected trails in that area.

A portion of the Happy Camp Ranger District, in the vicinity of the Ukonom Fire, is closed to public entry due to the active wildfire. The Klamath National Forest, Emergency Closure order number 17-05-797 is at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/article/5433/37176/.

The Doe Flat and Young’s Valley Trailheads are closed along with Doe Flat Trail 4E04 and Young’s Valley trail 5E02 to the Six River Forest boundary are closed due to the Young Fire.  The Six River National Forest Emergency Closure Order No. 10-17-07 is at www.fs.usda.gov/srnf.

Driving Safety: Motorists traveling on State Highway 96 near Orleans are reminded that there will be large amounts of fire traffic.

Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR): There are Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR)  over the Orleans Complex ,Ruth Complex, and the Young Fire. This means all non-operations related planes and drones are not allowed within the TFR.  Remember “If you fly, we can’t.”

Fire Restrictions: The Six Rivers National Forest remains under fire restrictions to provide for public and resource safety. Visit the forest website at www.fs.usda.gov/srnf for more details.

For More Information: For more information please the following Inciweb sites:

Orleans Complex Inciweb site at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5430/

Ruth Complex Inciweb site at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5492/

Young Fire Inciweb site at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5521/.

Smoke: Heavy smoke impacts will continue due to several active fires on the Klamath, Rogue River-Siskiyou, and the Six Rivers National Forests. For up-to-date Air Quality Advisory Information, call toll-free 1-866-BURN-DAY (1-866-287-6329), or visit the NCUAQMD website www.ncuaqmd.org .

There is always the risk of starting a wildfire. For more information on how wildfires can be prevented, remember “One Less Spark, One Less Wildfire” and visit http://preventwildfireca.org/OneLessSpark/

 

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MOGTX
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6 years ago

I’m sure some pot gardens are going up in flames .

steve
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steve
6 years ago
Reply to  MOGTX

getting the munchies, man

Covelo or busted
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Covelo or busted
6 years ago

Thanks for the info…. MUCH appreciated!

shak
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shak
6 years ago

Not to worry!! Huffman is adding another 300 miles to make it even bigger.
There might be a reason why the Constitution forbids the government from owning anything more than 10sq miles aka DC. But, gosh, I’ll be darned if I can think of it.