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Helicopter dropping water on a fallen snag near the fire’s perimeter on Saturday.

Cottonwood Creek Fire Update

[John Day, Ore.]  Overnight the Cottonwood Creek Fire remained
within the established firelines.  Light
precipitation fell across the fire but was not enough to impact fire fighting
activity today.  On Saturday the fire was
mapped at 159 acres with 10% containment. 
The increased size is due to improved mapping by firefighters, not from
fire growth.  The fire was reported mid-day
Friday approximately five miles south of Fossil, burning on private lands
protected by Oregon Department of Forestry’s (ODF) Central Oregon District.

Firefighters
worked Saturday to reduce heat and flames near the fire’s edge and strengthening
the dozer line.  Helicopters were used to
cool areas of intense heat, allowing firefighters to break down larger fuels
and mop-up these areas.  Snags within the
fire perimeter, especially near the fire’s edge created both a hazard to
firefighters and posed a risk of spreading fire across firelines into unburned
fuels.  Firefighters focused on falling
these snags Saturday.  A few minor slopovers
occurred due to rolling burning material in steep terrain and embers from falling
snags.  Firefighters were able to quickly
build fireline around these areas and mop-up any heat in the area.

Today
firefighters will be working to increase the area of cold black between the dozer
line and areas of heat or flame.  They
will be focusing in the areas of timber and heavier fuels which typically hold fire
longer.  Firefighters will use tenders
and hoselays to distribute water around the fire area to use in this mop-up work. 
A hoselay allows firefighters to pump water from an engine or portable tank
through a series of hoses to efficiently provide water to all parts of the
fire.  

The
fire is being managed by a Type 3 organization from ODF’s Central Oregon
District. Twelve wildland engines, five hand crews, three water tenders, a
dozer, and additional overhead are assigned to the fire.  Local aircraft are available as need to
support firefighting activities.

A
Regulated-Use Closure is in effect for the Central Oregon District to reduce
human caused fires.  The closure restricts
mowing of dried grass, cutting and grinding of metal, and chainsaw use between
10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. as well as prohibiting campfires, cooking fires and warming
fires.  The full proclamation and
restrictions are available at https://gisapps.odf.oregon.gov/firerestrictions/PFR.html.  Industrial operations on forestland within
the Central Oregon District also have restrictions in place.  Details for these activities are found at https://gisapps.odf.oregon.gov/firerestrictions/IFPL.html.  Preventing human caused fires allows
firefighters to focus suppression effort on fires started by lightning.  These focused activities result in smaller
fires with less damage to natural resources and communities and fewer impacts
to air quality.

For
additional information on ODF’s Central Oregon District, including contact
information and unit offices, please visit www.ODFcentraloregon.com.