Lower Dry Creek Fire reaches 100 percent containment

ATHENA – Firefighters report they have achieved 100 percent containment on the Lower Dry Creek Fire, marking a significant milestone in the response. That means a control line has been established around the incident and crews are confident it will remain within those boundaries.

The fire remains at 8,096 acres. The Red Team made excellent progress today (Saturday), conducting mop-up, patrolling the fire perimeter, and extinguishing remaining hot spots. Crews addressed isolated areas of heat including in the Coe Road area. They also monitored deep-seated heat in stumps and smoldering trees. Those areas remain contained and officials say they do not threaten homes or established control lines.

With 100 percent containment achieved, there will be no night operational period. Sunday morning will be an abbreviated operational period as crews conclude final mop-up and hazard mitigation.

“One of the response’s greatest accomplishments has been the completion of structure protection efforts through the incidents,” a statement from the team says. “Crews surveyed all properties and extinguished heat within 100 feet of homes within the perimeter.”

The Oregon State Fire Marshal team and Oregon Department of Forestry resources will demobilize tomorrow. At 1 p.m. Sunday, incident management will transition back to the local fire jurisdiction.

“Partnerships were key on this fire,” Incident Commander Ian Yocum said. “The unified response of local, county, state, and mutual-aid partners limited additional losses. We are grateful to ODF and all our structure firefighters for safely bringing this fire to a strong conclusion.”

The Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office continues to evaluate conditions and adjust evacuation levels as appropriate.

File photo of Lower Dry Creek Fire

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Elkhorn Media Group