541-612-0744
imt1.fireinfo@odf.oregon.gov
Boneyard Fire Facebook
MONUMENT, Ore. – On Thursday evening, Oregon Department of Forestry Incident Management Teams 1 and 3 held a joint community meeting in Long Creek to address the current status of the fires affecting Grant and Morrow counties, the merging of Monkey Creek and Boneyard fires and the changes in names for these incidents.
Beginning today, the fires are now called the Battle Mountain Complex Zone I (formerly Boneyard) and Zone II (formerly Monkey Creek). This will be the last separate press release, and starting tomorrow morning, the Battle Mountain Complex Zones I and II information will be distributed as a joint release between teams, and information on the Courtrock Fire will be distributed in a separate press release.
Today, firefighters focused on specific areas of the Courtrock and Battle Mountain Complex Zone I fires where fire activity had increased, as well as where potential threats to structures were. On the Courtrock Fire, resources were able to take advantage of the cool morning and construct a good amount of bulldozer and hand line along the eastern and western sides of the fire. It grew to the southeast significantly in hot, windy conditions Wednesday night, and firefighters spent much of the day working along those new edges of the fire. Tonight, night resources will continue that work and connect sections of line where possible. Structural resources will also be in the area to protect homes in and around Fox overnight.
On the Battle Mountain Complex Zone 1, while firefighters were working around the entire perimeter of the fire, a big focus was on the southwest side of this incident, which was also affected by Wednesday’s thunderstorms. New line was built and existing lines were strengthened. Additionally, less smoke in the air allowed aircraft to fly today, which greatly aided crews on the ground. Homes are scattered around in these areas, which prompted the priority focus. This work will continue overnight as well.
Monument and other area towns remain under the protection of Oregon State Fire Marshal task forces. An additional four arrived today, bringing the total to seven. These resources are tasked with providing
protection to homes near the fire while Team 1 resources line and extinguish the fire itself.
Weather patterns have shifted to slightly cooler temperatures with less windy conditions, which will help firefighters in the coming days to be more proactive, focusing more on building, connecting and strengthening line, rather than reacting to weather-driven fire behavior.
Closures: The Bureau of Land Management has closed public lands along the John Day River from Kimberly to Dale, and from Kimberly to Service Creek. More information here: https://www.blm.gov/programs/public-safety-and-fire/fire-and-aviation/regional-info/oregon-washington/fire-restrictions.
The Umatilla National Forest has implemented a closure for public lands within the Heppner Ranger District. More information here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/umatilla/news-events/?cid=FSEPRD1194462.
Evacuations: Level 1 (Get Ready), Level 2 (Be Set) and Level 3 (Go Now) evacuations are in effect. For updated evacuation information:
- Grant County Emergency Management Office’s Facebook page, or sign up for the Grant County Emergency Alert System at https://member.everbridge.net/825462649520134/login.
- Morrow County Evacuation information can be found at https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/de78333b0d2544f7a320142174aa20ae
Shelters: An evacuation center has been set up at Grant Union High School (911 S Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845).
Clean air and cooling centers are located in the following locations in Grant County:
- Grant County Library- cooling & clean air, Monday – Thursday 11 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
- John Day Senior Center- cooling & clean air, Monday & Thursday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Tuesday 12 – 4 p.m.
- Prairie City Public Works – clean air center, Monday – Friday 12 – 7 p.m.
- Dayville Community Hall- cooling & clean air, 24/7
FIRE AT A GLANCE
Est. Size: 61,158 acres
Courtrock Est. Size: 9,915 acres
Containment: 3%
Cause: Lightning
Estimated Cost: $3.2 million
Evacuations
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068819321423
Road Closures
https://www.tripcheck.com
Top Road (Morrow and Grant counties), Cupper Creek Road and Wall Creek Road.
Fire Restrictions
https://gisapps.odf.oregon.gov/firerestrictions/PFR.html
All Resources
Total Personnel: 697
Hand Crews: 22
Engines: 32
Water Tenders: 20
Dozers: 22
Helicopters: 4
Incident Commander:
Joe Hessel Oregon Department of Forestry
Incident Management Team 1