Saturday Update: Elbow Creek Fire

News release from the National Forest Service

CURRENT FIRE SIZE AS OF 7/24/21 IR FLIGHT    21,928 ACRES 

CURRENT FIRE CONTAINMENT    25% 

LAST NIGHT AND TODAY:  

Night operations were successful. No substantial growth of the fire was observed. Overall things are going well with no major concerns for today’s operations. Crews continue to work on “Plan B” contingency lines, tightening them up and making sure that they are secure. “Anchor, flank, pinch” is the phrase of the day. 

Anchor: An advantageous location, usually a barrier to fire spread, from which to start constructing a fire line. The anchor point is used to minimize the chance of being flanked by the fire while the line is being constructed. 

Flank: Attacking a fire by working along the flanks either simultaneously or successively from a less active or anchor point and endeavoring to connect two lines at the head. 

Pinch: To cut off. Pinching two control lines together. 

Fire crews are also taking advantages of small burnout operations, increasing containment line security by removing unburned fuels between the line and the main fire.  

The fire now has eight helicopters assigned. Two of which are Type 1 (700 to 3,000 gallons) Blackhawks from the Oregon National Guard

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