Containment at 42% on the Bootleg Fire; Tornado confirmed on the fire last Saturday
/Bootleg Fire update for July 24, 2021
Operations Update for Zone 2 of the #BootlegFire for Saturday, July 24th at 7:00 am. Kyle Cannon, Operations Section Chief gives an insight on the firefighting operations on the west, north and northeast portions of the fire. #fireseason2021
Reduction in general winds and shading of fuels from an inversion slightly reduced fire spread yesterday, and crews prepare to continue to work to contain the eastern and norhtern edges of the Bootleg Fire.
FIRE DETAILS
Cause:
Lightning / Natural
Size:
401,601 Acres
Containment: 42%
Location:
South Central Oregon Klamath & Lake Counties
Total Personnel: 2,224
Resources:
Crews: 59
Engines: 152
Tenders: 75
Dozers: 42
Other Heavy Equip.: 28
Fuels:
Heavy Timber, grass, and understory.
Initial Report:
1:45 PM, July 6, 2021
Last Updated:
4:30 PM, July 24, 2021
Coverage of the 2021 Wildfire Season is brought to you by Ace Towing.
Aerial view of the firing operation along Winter Rim Road (Forest Road 2901) in Division I. With yesterday’s favorable wind, this firing operation was implemented to keep the fire from moving to the east towards the towns of Summer Lake and Paisley. The #BootlegFire perimeter is now longer than the I-5 corridor through Oregon at 321 miles. (Image: Bootleg Fire Facebook)
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - Yesterday, fireline construction progressed north from Long Creek toward Coyote Creek.
The day shift was able to hold the fireline from the 400 Road to the south despite some active fire behavior that was pushing to the north and west.
Night shift was able to work the area between Long Creek and Coyote Creek and construct direct fireline with dozers, hand crews, and hose lays.
Crews continue to clear roads as a contingency plan above Sycan Marsh.
Firefighters addressed spot fires on the northeastern flank and struggled to hold them. Burn-out operations were performed from the 36 road to remove available unburned fuels to contain the spots. The burnout had favorable winds and good progress was made to protect the Summer Lake community. Night crews worked to hold those areas and perform additional burnout operations.
Crews and resources have been repositioned to bases near Summer Lake and Paisley. This move will put crews and equipment closer to the active areas of the fire. The area around Summer Lake remains in Level 3 evacuation.
“This fire is resistant to stopping at dozer lines.” Jim Hansen, FBAN “With the critically dry weather and fuels we are experiencing, firefighters are having to constantly re-evaluate their control lines and look for contingency options.”
On the southeastern corner of the fire, crews worked through the night to strengthen the existing containment line. Areas of heat near the fire line were mopped up, a couple of spots over the line were extinguished, and slop over the fire line continues to be worked by crews. Today, crews will continue to hold, secure, and monitor the fire on its southeastern edge.
Firefighters are actively patrolling and mopping areas along the western portion of the fire. This step is necessary to ensure that all heat that could threaten the security of the fire line has been extinguished. Resources continue to be shifted to meet the needs across the fire area. Firefighters from this fire may be called to provide an initial attack response to new fire starts that have the potential to rapidly grow, given the extremely dry fuel conditions.
A Red Flag Warning is in effect this afternoon for dry and unstable atmospheric conditions. Temperatures today will be warmer and smoke and haze from nearby fires will linger through the day. The smoke is expected to keep temperatures down a couple of degrees today which may help overall fire activity. Unfortunately, this smoke may impede air operations on the fire.
As a part of the normal two-week rotation of Incident Management Teams (IMT), Alaska Type 1 IMTeam will begin arriving on the fire today. They will shadow the existing teams for several days and assume command of the fire on Tuesday, July 27th.
Tornado Confirmed
Derek Williams a meteorologist working on the Bootleg Fire and the NWS Medford office has confirmed that there was a tornado over the eastern edge of the fire last Saturday. The rare event will be studied and researched.
– EVACUATION INFORMATION
Evacuations are rapidly changing due to the nature of this wildfire. Visit the interactive evacuations map at klamathfallsnews.org/bootleg-fire-evacuations.
For information or assistance: 1-800-Red-Cross and Facebook @RedCrossCascades.
– CLOSURES
The Fremont-Winema National Forest is closed to the public in the fire area. Map and full order are available here.
Smoke report. Click to enlarge.
– SMOKE
Afternoon smoke impacts will continue to be high in areas north, northeast, and east of the fire, especially in the vicinity of Silver Lake, Summer Lake, and Paisley. Continuing SW winds will push smoke from the Bootleg Fire away from Lakeview, Klamath Falls and Sprague River Valley, but may bring some smoke from the Dixie Fire into the area.
Full report at: fires.airfire.org/outlooks/southcentraloregon.
– PROJECTED INCIDENT ACTIVITY
The fire will continue to be extremely active with gusty winds and extremely dry fuels. Significant acreage increases potential on the northern and eastern sides of the fire. Rapid-fire spread with high-intensity fire behavior. Fire will continue to move East/Northeast. Significant amounts of smoke will be present during day and night.
– WEATHER CONCERNS
Red Flag Warning 2-8pm Saturday for Haines Index 6.
Very dry, hot unstable conditions are expected Saturday, with atmospheric conditions that will be favorable for vertical plume growth. A Red Flag Warning will be in effect for the afternoon and evening due to the unstable conditions. Winds will become increasingly norhtwesterly through the day, with northwest winds prevailing for the next several days.
Look for a steady improvement in humidity and cooler temperatures into early next week, as a surge of moisture brings the potential for showers/thunderstorms Monday-Wednesday.
– HOW BIG IS THE FIRE?
As of, July 24, 2021, the Bootleg Fire is the largest fire burning in the United States at 401,601 acres. The fire is equal to 627.5 square miles. That is over two times larger than the entirety of Crater Lake National Park.
Information is provided by the Fremont-Winema National Forest, Klamath County Emergency Management, Oregon Department of Forestry, and Northwest IMT 10 is current as of 4:30 PM, July 24, 2021.
Klamath Falls News & Cascade Firewatch’s coverage of the 2021 Wildfire Season is brought to you by Ace Towing.
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