By Mindy Gould on Friday, June 11th, 2021 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News Eastern/Southeast Oregon Top Stories
For Immediate Release Incident Commander: Jason Loomis, Northwest Team 7
ENTERPRISE, Ore. – This morning, at 6:00 a.m., NW Team 7 transitioned management of the fire back to local agencies. Northwest Team 7 would like to thank the entire Wallowa County community for their support as well as firefighters for all their hard work throughout this incident. Local agencies will continue to monitor conditions and will remain ready in the event there are changes to the current status.
An e-mail has been established specifically for inquiries about the fires. Please send questions to 2021.josephcanyon@firenet.gov
Joseph Canyon Fire – Start Date: June 4, 2021 Cause: Lightning Size: 7,610 acres Containment: 95%
Location: 23 miles southwest of Lewiston, ID.
Status: Weather patterns continued to provide favorable conditions for suppression actions due to cooler temperatures and scattered showers in the fire area yesterday. Minimal fire behavior occurred due to higher fine fuel moisture.
Dry Creek Fire – Start Date: June 3-4, 2021 Cause: Lightning Size: 1,585 acres Containment: 95%
Location: The Dry Creek Fire is located in a remote and rugged part of Hells Canyon, northeast of Joseph, OR.
Status: Weather patterns continued to provide favorable conditions yesterday for suppression efforts due to cooler temperatures and scattered showers in the fire area. Minimal fire behavior occurred due to higher fine fuel moisture and precipitation.
Weather: Cloudy skies are expected, with a slight chance for afternoon showers. South winds of 5-10 mph.
Evacuations: There are currently no evacuation orders associated with the Joseph Canyon and Dry Creek fires.
Closures: TheNez Perce Tribe has temporarily closed the Precious Lands Wildlife Management Area in Northeastern Oregon:https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/article/7513/59633/
Fire Season Declared: Oregon Department of Forestry’s Northeast Oregon District proclaimed that they would go into fire season beginning Wednesday, June 9th at 12:01 a.m. They have new fire restriction signs located throughout the district, with a Fire Prevention information line; (541) 975-3027 and a QR code which will take you to www.bmidc.org, for current information on fire restrictions.
Prevention Message: Whether we are out in nature or home in our backyards, remember that it’s our role to protect the lands we love by preventing wildfires and recreating responsibly.