The fight against fires continues on the Umatilla National Forest
By Terry Murry on Thursday, September 12th, 2024 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – (News release from the Umatilla National Forest) Five of the 11 wildfires that developed from Sunday’s lightning, have either been contained, controlled or are out. The largest of those fires, Trout Two estimated at seven acres, located 24 miles east of Ukiah on the North Fork John Day Ranger District, has been contained. Today, two new fires have been detected on the Walla Walla Ranger District from last night’s lightning. All the remaining fires are .5 acre or less in size and have active suppression efforts happening on them.
Forest personnel continue scouting for potential new smoke reports. More smoke reports are expected throughout the next few days as more thunderstorms are expected throughout the week. Fire crews and managers will conduct active suppression on the current fires, watch for additional starts and continually assess local resource needs based on fire circumstances.
Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) Incident Management Team 2 firefighters are continuing to work on containing the Service Fire, the last of the five fires in the Fossil Complex to have active suppression efforts on it. It has grown to an estimated 21,887 acres and is now about a mile and a half southwest of the Heppner Ranger District. Light rain is expected over the fire area today while amounts will vary across the fire area. The lower temperatures and higher relative humidity will minimize fire growth helping crews working on building fire lines according to the Incident Management Team.
You can find the latest information about the Fossil Complex by calling
(541) 903-5311 or on InciWeb at https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/or95s-fossil-complex.
We ask forest visitors to use caution when traveling through or recreating on the forest and please stay aware of your situation and continue to listen for fire updates. Umatilla National Forest will provide updates as our fire situation changes to keep the public informed.
Thunderstorms are expected through the week with winds gusting up to 22 mph. The current fire danger rating is at HIGH and public use restrictions phase B for Umatilla National Forest are in effect.
