Blue Fire Spreads to 1,049 Acres With 0% Containment

Update from U.S. Forest Service: “No virtual meeting will be available tonight on the Klamath National Facebook page. A virtual meeting will be held September 1^st on Klamath NF Facebook at 6 p.m. and an in person meeting at SeiadFire Department on September 2nd. ”

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

Blue Fire: 1,049 acres; 0% containment

Personnel: 225

Operational Updates:

The California Incident Management Team 1 assumed command of the Blue Fire as of 7:00am this morning. Team 1’s current operational focus is to keep the fire south of the Klamath River, north of Forest Road 46N64, east of Grider Ridge, and west of Slinkard Ridge.

During nighttime operations, the increasing evening winds significantly picked up the Blue Fire’s activity, pushing it past Blue Mountain. The Fire began backing down toward Grider Creek, spotting ahead of itself, while simultaneously backing towards Walker to the east with spotting as well. The fire remained active all evening. The sudden increase of spread sparked more Evacuation Warnings during the night within the Seiad Valley.

Additional firefighters arrived to fight the growing Blue Fire with more staff on order. Today, firefighters will watch for suppression opportunities directly on the fire’s edge utilizing helicopters and retardant planes when smoke clears. Indirect contingency lines will be scouted along Walker Ridge, Grider Ridge, and within the Seiad Valley.

A virtual meeting will be held on the Klamath National Forest Facebook page tonight at 6:00pm.

Evacuations:

Evacuation Warnings are in effect for Zones SIS-1118, SIS-1007, and SIS-1117 due to the Blue Fire.

Grider Creek Campground and a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail are in the Evacuation Warning area.

The latest evacuation information can be found at https://protect.genasys.com.

Visit https://www.readysiskiyou.gov/ for fire-related resources and general safety information.

If you are in an Evacuation Order Zone, LEAVE IMMEDIATELY. This lawful order is not only to protect your life, but the lives of firefighters, law enforcement, and emergency medical personnel.

For shelter information and resources related to the fire evacuations, please call (530) 340–3539.

Pacific Crest Trail:

The Blue Fire is burning about two miles west of mile 1649 of the Pacific Crest Trail, which passes through the Evacuation Warning area. Hikers are strongly encouraged to bypass this section of the Trail.

Fire Restrictions:

The Klamath National Forest is in fire restrictions. Visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/klamath/alerts/fire-restrictions to view the complete list of restricted activities before visiting the Forest.