Canyon Creek Complex Update
A community meeting is scheduled for Sunday, August 16 at 4 p.m. at Grant Union High School old gym.
JOHN DAY, Ore. –Local, state and federal firefighters continue to actively fight the fire, reinforced by structural fire engines to provide community and structure protection.
Local firefighting resources and new firefighting resources coming in to assist with the Canyon Creek Complex were provided an early morning briefing by the incoming state and federal firefighting teams in the sale barn at the Grant County Fairgrounds this morning.
“As we work in this incredibly resilient community; we recognize local responders and the public who worked to help friends and neighbors through this very difficult event with limited resources. We will be here for as long as it takes to ensure that you have the support you need moving forward,” said Oregon State Fire Marshal and Red Team Incident Commander Jim Walker.
Both of the Incident Commanders stressed the importance of working together with the local resources. Two incident management teams: a federal wildland firefighting team, and an Oregon State Fire Marshal’s team, are managing the Canyon Creek Complex under unified command as of 6 a.m. this morning.
“We are working with local leaders to support the community and responders. Today’s priority is for a safe and organized transition. We are assessing the fire situation and building on the long standing relationships in this community,” added Great Basin Team 1 Incident Commander Beth Lund.
Approximately 300 firefighters are currently assigned and more are anticipated to arrive to assist with the Canyon Creek Complex. Air tankers provided good support to the fire operations yesterday, and the lack of a smoke inversion this morning allowed helicopter operations to get an early start today providing support to ground operations.
Today, the fire is most active in the southeast corner in the Strawberry Wilderness. Fire managers cautioned firefighters that potential rapid growth of spot fires may occur with exposure to predicted gusty winds. Equipment operators have been requested to fill up tanks prior to leaving town to minimize impacts to water sources, and to notify local land managers of stray livestock in an effort to assist permittees.
A number of communities remain under Level 3 and Level 2 evacuations:
Level 3: Dog Creek-south of Marysville
Marysville South
Pine Creek – Gravel Pit, South
Canyon Creek
Edgewood Drive Level 2: Laycock Creek Adams Drive
Nans Rock Rd West Bench Rd
Luce Creek Marysville North
Pine Creek – Gravel Pit, North
Dog Creek-north of Marysville
American Red Cross shelter has been staged at the Mt. Vernon Community Center at 640 Ingle Street.
The Red Cross is transitioning to providing financial and relief services for displaced residents. Those wishing to make monetary donations on behalf of displaced residents can contact the American Red Cross Mountain River Chapter at redcross.org/cascades or in person at the shelter located on Ingle Street in Mt. Vernon.
Closures
An emergency fire closure is in effect in the Strawberry Mountain Wilderness area. A copy of the closure order and map is available at http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4495/ Forest Service personnel have assisted with escorting campers and other recreationalists out high-use areas, coordinating with Grant County Sheriff’s Office and other local agencies to facilitate the closure.
Additional information on the Canyon Creek Complex can be found on Inciweb at: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4495/.
Please be advised of increased fire traffic and smoky conditions throughout the area. Forest Officials ask that the public stay clear of all fire activities.
The National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group (NMAC) is increased the National Fire Preparedness Level (PL) to its highest point, PL-5, effective at 5:30 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time on Thursday, August 13. The last time that the National Preparedness Level was raised to 5 was on August 20, 2013. The National Preparedness Level remained at 5 for 7 days until it was dropped to 4 on August 26, 2013. This is the fifth time that PL-5 has been reached in the last ten years.
Additional fire information can be found at JDIDC – BICC sites online at: http://bicc-jdidc.org/index.shtml.
For more information on the Malheur National Forest, please visit us at www.fs.usda.gov/malheur, follow U.S. Forest Service- Malheur National Forest on Facebook, and follow @MalheurNF on Twitter for all the latest forest news.
To report a fire, contact the John Day Interagency Dispatch Center at 541-575-1321 or the Burns Interagency Communication Center at 541-573-1000.
Email Address: canyoncreekcomplex@gmail.com
Facebook: Great Basin National Incident Management Team 1
Inciweb: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4495/
