Crews continue to make good progress on Town Gulch Fire in Baker County
By Joe Hathaway on Sunday, August 11th, 2024 in Northeastern Oregon News
Size: 18,552 acres (1,783 reduction) Cause: Lightning Containment: 37 percent Start Date: August 5, 2024 Total Personnel: 308 Structures Damaged or Destroyed: 4
OPEN HOUSE: The Southern Area Blue Team will be hosting an open house today at the Eagle Valley Grange 656 Hall in Richland from 4:00 – 5:30 PM. There will be a short presentation on the fire situation then an opportunity to talk with operations staff, Incident Commanders and others.
CURRENT SITUATION: The Oregon State Fire Marshal (OSFM) task forces have completed structure protection measures and evacuation levels have begun to diminish. Due to the progress achieved by firefighters working around the clock, the OSFM task forces and its Blue Incident Management Team will return to their home agencies today. The size of the fire has been reduced by 1,783 acres. This is a common occurrence on large fires as the fire perimeter is more accurately mapped. Incident resources are walking the fire perimeter to confirm the exact location of the fire’s edge, which results in a more accurate calculation of total acres.
The north and northeastern sides of the fire are holding the most heat and continue to demonstrate high fire activity. Today, crews will install two hose lays on the northern end of the fire to provide water for crews extinguishing heat near the lines. Yesterday, an interior pocket of unburned fuel north of China Spring ignited. Crews utilized a progressive firing operation to reduce the fuel load. The fire remained within containment lines. Additionally, two secondary containment lines are in place between the community of Halfway and the fire perimeter. Today, a hotshot crew will improve the line around yesterday’s burn out. The west and south sides of the fire are secure, and crews will continue to monitor and patrol this area to ensure no flare ups threaten the line.
WEATHER: Temperatures are moderating, with a high around 84 today. High temperatures will drop to the high 70s/low 80s throughout the week. Relative humidity will drop to about 17% today. Humidity is showing good recovery at night, climbing into the low to mid 50 percent. This recovery should moderate fire activity allowing crews to continue to make progress on suppressing the fire. As unburned fuels within the fire perimeter continue to ignite, smoke will impact local air quality with the air in Halfway measured as unhealthy. Current air quality information is available on the Oregon smoke blog (https://www.oregonsmoke.org/).
CLOSURES: Wallowa-Whitman National Forest lands, roads, trails, and recreation sites around the Town Gulch Fire are temporarily closed and fire restrictions are in effect. Forest closure orders and maps can be found on the Forest’s “Forest Orders” web page: tinyurl.com/36t4f2t2.
EVACUATIONS: Baker County Sheriff’s Office has issued Level 1, 2, and 3 evacuations for areas near the fire. Follow the sheriff’s office Facebook page (tinyurl.com/3auvka4j) for the latest evacuation news. Residents may sign up to receive emergency notifications through Baker County ALERT (tinyurl.com/884czdrf).
