Red Salmon Complex: Warm, Dry Weather Keeps Fire Active

Press release from the Red Salmon Complex Management Team:

Fire activity continued in the South Fork of the Salmon River, Methodist Creek, Plummer Creek, and the East Fork of the New River. Fire continued to slowly back down Plummer creek to the confluence of the Salmon river, cleaning up unburned fuels in a steady progression.

Weather and Fire Behavior: Unseasonably warm temperatures will continue today. Fuel moisture levels continue to decline allowing the fire to remain active for the near future with moderate fire behavior still possible. Rain is not forecast in the immediate future. A dry cold front is expected to arrive on Wednesday, lowering temperatures and raising humidity. Smoke impacting the area remains likely. For information on smoke impact, go to www.airnow.gov.

Today’s Operations: Along the western flank of the fire, crews will be repairing containment lines (restoring fireline to prevent soil erosion). Native American crews will be inserted into the interior of the burn along the Devils Backbone to work on suppression repair on culturally sensitive areas. On the northeastern flank, crews will monitor backing fire along the Salmon River and Plummer creek as unburned fuels continue to consume. On the southeastern flank, firefighters will continue securing firelines to keep fire east of Miller Ranch and west of the East Fork New River. Structure defense crews are removing structure defense systems where the fire threat has been mitigated and maintaining systems where the threat remains.

Fire suppression repair is occurring both within the Wilderness and on all flanks of the fire where containment has been achieved. Resource advisors help direct this work to protect sensitive natural and cultural resources. As fire containment increases, a big task for crews is to gather and return the miles of hose, water pumps, and portable water tanks back to fire camp for cleaning, packaging and shipping.

Closures: Fire officials would like to remind visitors that Red Salmon Complex closures still remain in effect for firefighter and public safety. More information is available on forest websites: www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/klamath/alerts-notices | www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/srnf/alerts-notices | www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/stnf/alerts-notices