Wilson Prairie Fire Evening Update July 25, 2018

Contact: Christie Shaw, Oregon Department of Forestry

               Darcy Weseman, Umatilla National Forest

               541-278-3722

[Morrow County, Ore.] Fire
behavior increased late yesterday afternoon on the Wilson Prairie Fire,
resulting in the fire moving outside the fireline on the southern portion of
the fire.  The fire, pushed by afternoon winds
and warm temperatures spotted across the retardant lines into dry fuels.  Three helicopters were used to drop water on
hotspots while tankers were used to lay retardant lines in front of the fire to
slow the spread so ground resources could engage and build fireline.  The fire continued to grow to the south.  Firelines on the north portion of the fire
continue to hold.  Firefighters are working
to stop the fire progress in the south using firefighters, dozers, and fire
engines supported by helicopters and tankers. 
Current resources on the fire includes three helicopters, six crews,
twelve engines, four dozers, and two tenders. 
The fire is currently estimated at 700 acres.

A large area, trail and road
closure within the vicinity of Bull Prairie Lake and the Wilson Prairie area
has been implemented on the Wilson Prairie Fire.  A map and detailed description of the area
closure is available at any Umatilla National Forest office and at the bottom
of this news release. The Morrow County Off-Highway Vehicle Park and Campground
is currently open, however some trails may be impacted by the fire
activity.  Please observe all trail and
area closures.

Today the Oregon Department of Forestry
(ODF) and Umatilla National Forest will in-brief Northwest Interagency Team 8,
Incident Commander Doug Johnson, who will take control of the fire at 6:00 a.m.
Thursday morning.  The growth and
complexity of the fire over the last few days prompted the agencies to bring in
the Type 2 team to manage the increasing personnel and firefighting assets
needed to contain the fire.  ODF and the
Umatilla National Forest will remain engaged with the team as they work to
suppress the fire.

Information for the fire is
available on InciWeb:  https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6028/

The weather forecast for the
region is a continued hot and dry trend with poor humidity recovery.  Please follow restrictions to limit potential
human wildfire ignitions.

The
area closure includes:

Starting at State Highway 207 at its junction with the Forest
Boundary in T7S, R25E, Section 3, South to Forest Service Road (FSR) 24, then
follow FSR 24 east to its junction with FSR 23, then follow FSR 23 east to FSR
2128, then follow FSR 2128 north to the Forest Boundary at T7S, R26 Section 2,
then following the Forest Boundary west to State Highway 207.

In
addition, the following roads are closed: