North Op's: INCIDENT SITUATION

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA OPERATIONS COORDINATION CENTER

INCIDENT SITUATION

06/26/08 @ 0600 hrs

Team Commitments

• BTU - Butte Complex – T - 1 Lewin
• SHU - Shasta Complex – T-1 Kerschen
• MEU -Mendincino Complex – T-1 Waterman
• TNF - American River Complex – T-I Summerfelt
• TNF - Yuba River Complex – T-2 Joseph
• SHF - Area Command Zimmerman
• SHF - Lime Complex- T-2 Kaage/ T-1 Opliger
• SHF - Iron Complex - T-2 Swarztlander
• SHF – FUMT Ourada/Soper
• LNU - Wild Fire – T-1 Morris
• LNF - Cub Complex – T-2 Batten
• LNF – Peterson – T-1 Ruggiero
• LNF- Mill Complex – T-1 Larsen
• PNF- Canyon Complex - T-1 Pincha –Tulley
• MNF- Soda Complex – T-2 Heintz
• KNF- Siskiyou Complex- T-2 Paul
• SRF – Ukonom/Orleans– T-2 Lund
• SRF - Hells Hat Complex – T-2 Secrest
• ONC- NIMO - Gage
• ONC – Order 1 T1 team staging Sac.

North Operations Preparedness – Level ( 5)

South Operations Preparedness – Level ( 5 )

National Preparedness – Level (4 )

Weather Discussion:

Smoke will be another issue this morning, limiting the daytime heating and surface winds during the afternoon hours. However, later this evening and tonight winds will pick up across the far Northern Sacramento Valley and adjacent foothills. These winds will be from the N to NE at 10-20 mph across many exposed areas, along with poor nighttime humidity recovery. Some areas in the Feather Drainages could see gusts over 35 mph late tonight thru Friday morning. Afterwards, by Friday afternoon all eyes will be on the next thunderstorm outbreak, moving in from the Sierra and shifting NW into much of Northern California through the weekend. Many of these storms could be dry.

FIRE INFORMATION SUMMARY (REPORT GENERATED FROM ICS-209).

Todays AM report: Unit, Fire Name, IC/IMT, Acres, Critical Needs, Major Concerns

Unit/Fire name: BTU-Lightning - 7,000 acres
IC/IMT: Lewin
Critical Needs: Type 3 Engines, Type 1 Fire Crews, Dozer Bosses, Aircraft
Problems / concerns: Fires are immediately threatening communities. The air was stable last night, so fire activity was minimized. The inversion layer still dominates the incident area. If the inversion layer lifts, fire intensity will greatly increase, causing additional evacuations and significant fire spread. Some of the fires are in remote areas making containment difficult and will require large numbers of hand crews.

Unit/Fire name: SHU- Lightning - 20,000 acres
IC/IMT: Kerschen
Critical Needs:47) Type I Handcrew ST, (26) Type III Engine ST, (36) DIVS, (17) Type II Dozers, (2) Type II Dozer ST, (5) Type I helicopters, SOFR, FOBS, DOZB, (9) Type III engines.
Problems / concerns: Continued heavy resource commitment continues across the SHU unit. Evacuation orders have been lifted for Shingletown and Burney. Increased fire activity in new locations is causing control challenges in addition to structure threats. Critical region drawdown is resulting in numerous outstanding resource orders. IR flight is critical to success of the incident. New fires have begun in Branches V and VI, west of Redding, which are not staffed , inaccessible and have large growth potential. Approaching weather system for the weekend will challenge control lines and potentially increase size of newer fires.

Unit/Fire name: WNP - Whiskeytown complex - 3,000 acres
IC/IMT: Chapman
Critical Needs: (1) 2-strike team type 1 handcrews, (2) 1- type 1 helicopter (3) 2-type 1 handcrews (4)2 DIVS
Problems / concerns: Commercial) on Shasta Bally are fairly severe from fire damage, the powerline is not In order to protect the powerlines the use of heavy lift helicopters would be needed to contain the spread of fire to the powerline structures. These towers are used by television, radio, and numerous public and private agencies and companies for two-way radio communications in the greater Redding area. Protection of power lines to the communication site is critical for them to maintain operations. WAPA high voltage transmission lines will be threatened if fire 5-3 (Boulder) continues backing downhill and merge into the 5-2 (Bally fire). The extreme terrain and need to contain the fires with indirect lines requires the use of experienced type 1 or type 2IA rated crews.

Unit/Fire name: MEU- Mendocino Lightning Complex 21,294 acres
IC/IMT: Waterman
Critical Needs: AIRCRAFT: 3 Type I and 3 Type II helicopters, Air tankers any type or amount, and 2 Air Attack. Strike Teams Type I Crews and Engines any type or amount. OVERHEAD: 6 OPS2(Branch Director),10 DIVS, 10 FOBS, 2 RCDM
Problems / concerns: Multiple fires with minimal staffing with evacuations in place or imminent: Red Mountain: 1500 acres, 0% contained,200-300 structures threatened, Lat/Lon 39 51’52” -123 39’53” Jack Smith: 700 acres, 0% contained, 20 structures threatened, Lat/Lon 39 16’ 20” -123 19’ 24” Orr Series: 600 acres, 0% contained, 50 structures 1 resort threatened, Lat/Lon 39 41’1” -123 23’52” Navarro: 3,000 acres, 0% contained, Lat/Lon 39 12’ 43” -123 37’ 60” All fires need fixed wing and rotary aircraft, fire crews and engines. Heavy resource drawdown is leaving 2/3 of the fires unstaffed. Inaccessible, steep terrain. No Unit coverage, all stations are unstaffed. Private timber companies are contracting to implement additional suppression activities.

Unit/Fire name: TNF- American River Complex - 1,750 acres
IC/IMT: Summerfelt
Critical Needs: 5 Type 1 Crews; 2. 3 Type 2 IA Crews; 3. 1 RADO; 4. 2 Type 1 Helicopters, 2 Type 2 Helicopters; and 1 Type 3 Helicopter
Problems / concerns: Lack of resources continue compromising control objectives. Air quality health issues are currently affecting the I-80 corridor from Reno to Auburn. Communities affected by smoke include Auburn, Navada City, Grass Valley, Foresthill, Colfax, Truckee, Reno, as well as numerous other smaller communities. Smoke inversions continue to make it difficult to determine fire size. Potential for rapid fire growth exists when inversion lifts. Threats to significant values along the I-80 corridor exist with fire spread to the north and west on the Government Springs Fire. No resources currently available for implementation of suppression actions.

Unit/Fire name: TNF- Yuba River Complex - 2,680 acres
IC/IMT: Joseph
Critical Needs: 2-T1 Helicopters, 3-T2 Helicopters, 3 T3 Helicopters, 5 Type 1 Hotshot Crews, 15 Type III Engines, 2- Division Supervisors.
Problems / concerns: Lack of crew resources are limiting the effectiveness of suppression tactics, lack of critical air support to provide fire intelligence, situational awareness, water support and fire fighter safety. Hwy 20, Hwy 49 and numerous communities are potentially threatened. Lack of resources is compromising control objectives. Fires continue to pose a public health hazard to local communities within the fire areas due to smoke. Areas of dense smoke could pose a potential road hazard. The closure of high use camping/recreational areas that will continue through the 4th of July weekend will affect the local tourist based economy. SPI lands in the area of the Celina are now threatened.

Unit/Fire name: SHF- Lime Complex - 11,200 acres
IC/IMT: Oppliger/Kaage
Critical Needs: 5 Type 1 IHC, 5 Type 2 IA crews, 3 ST Type 3 eng, 5 DIVS, 5 DOZB, 2 sets fallers, 3 FELB, 4 OPBD, 2 SEC 1, 2 SEC 2.
Problems / concerns: The Lime Complex was comprised of approximately 70 fires ranging in size from spots to several over 2,000 acres in size. Of the original 70 fires 17 are contained, a number of fires have merged in the area south of Hyampom. The Noble Fire is approximately 2 miles south of Harrison Gulch, 2 miles S/W of Platina. The Noble Fire has become established in the Beegum Gorge and is approaching alignment with the community of Platina. Numerous fires are in remote areas with steep terrain and limited access. Priority fires have been identified and include four that pose a significant threat to life and property: Fisher, Handy Gap, Telephone, Noble, Deadshot, Slide, and Miners. Projections in the 24 to 72 hour time range show the communities of Widwood, Hyampom and Platina to be directly impacted by the Slide and Noble fires respectively. A critical priority in maintaining the integrity of Highways 36 and 3. Highway 36 has the potential to be closed due to activity of the Telephone fires.

Unit/Fire name: SHF- Iron Complex - 4,500 acres
IC/IMT: Swartzlander
Critical Needs: 10-Type I crews, 4-Type II IA crews, 1-Type 2 helicopters, 1-FBAN, 1-Aerial Sphere despenser operator, 1-SEC 1 or 2, 1-SECM, 12-single resource engines-any kind and type, 2-RADO.
Problems / concerns: Unstaffed fires continue to grow. Accessibility is a problem due to difficult terrain along with many forest roads being closed by blow down. Approximately 11 of 36 fires are in the Trinity Alps Wilderness area. Many of the fires will require type 1 crews and air support. Several groups of fires are burning together and consolidating specifically on the Ironside Mtn., and the Green Mtn. Inversions and smoke in the canyons are limiting the use of air resources. Suppression action is occurring on the Eagle Fire, the Cedar Fire, Canadian Fire, and the Dedrick Fire. Point protection is occurring on the Ironside and Ziegler fires. The Half fire from the Six Rivers has come onto the Shasta T and Six River resource are taking suppression actions. One new fire was Initial attacked, 3 miles west of Junction City on Hwy. 299, the Cutthroat fire was contained at about 50 acres. Within the next 12 to 72 hours a total of 6 residential area will be threatened.

Unit/Fire name: LNU- Walker - 14,000 acres
IC/IMT: Morris
Critical Needs: Crews, Type 3 engines
Problems / concerns: Rapid ROS, long range spotting, resource drawdown

Unit/Fire name: LNF- Peterson - 1,200 acres
IC/IMT: Ruggiero
Critical Needs: None listed
Problems / concerns: Threat to Little Valley and resource threats

Unit/Fire name: LNF- Antelope - 600 acres
IC/IMT:
Critical Needs: None listed
Problems / concerns: None listed

Unit/Fire name: LNF- Mill - 1500 acres
IC/IMT:
Critical Needs: None listed
Problems / concerns: Fire is burning in the Ishi Wilderness, structures and land holdings threatened. Fire is reported to be approximately 7000 acres but only 1500 on the forest.

Unit/Fire name: LNF- June Lightning Complex- 150 acres
IC/IMT: T3
Critical Needs: None
Problems / concerns: In inaccessible area, lack of resources causing fires to increase in size. Social/political concerns are smoke in communities.

Unit/Fire name: LNF- CUB Complex - 2,000 acres -
IC/IMT: Batten
Critical Needs: 2 Type 2 Helicopters, 6 Type I crews, 2 FOBS, 2 STLC, 2 ENGB, 1 COML, 6 Type 6 Engines, 3 FELB, 4 DIVS, 2 OSC2, and FBAN.
Problems / concerns:
The Onion Fire has high potental to close Cal Highway 32 in the next 1 to 3 days, which is the primary link between Chico and Chester. The Cub fire has a high potential to grow into a long duration (multiple team rotations) incident. High probability of significant public health issues to the communities in the Lake Almanor area. Economic impacts on local communities will be high. The window of opportunity to take direct suppression on this fire is closing. Type I crews are critical due to the terrain and coyote tactics needed to take direct action. Aviation resources will be critical to support the operation.

Unit/Fire name: LMU- June Lightning Complex - 50 acres
IC/IMT:
Critical Needs: None listed
Problems / concerns: None listed

Unit/Fire name: LMU- Popcorn - 3,000 acres
IC/IMT: Burke
Critical Needs: None listed
Problems / concerns: None listed

Unit/Fire name: LMU - Corral - 1,740 acres
IC/IMT: Berry
Critical Needs: Overhead, engines, crews, dozers, in addition, helicopters and aircraft
Problems / concerns:The fire is now burning in small to medium sized commercial timber. Heavy spotting over the line in dry fuels is occurring under gusty winds of 16 mph during the afternoon.

Unit/Fire name: HUU - Humbolt Complex - 1,050 acres
IC/IMT:
Critical Needs: None
Problems / concerns: Spotting potential. Holding the line. Firing operations suspended due to wind.

Unit/Fire name: PNF - Canyon Complex - 5,291 acres
IC/IMT: Pincha-Tulley
Critical Needs: 10-DIVS; 1-ATGS; 1-OSC1; 3-OSBD; 12-T1 Crews; 5-T3 ST Eng.; and 2-STAM.
Problems / concerns: Heavy fuel loading with very steep and inaccessible terrain. Extreme dry fuel moisture at levels normally not found until late August. Multiple mines posing a hazard to firefighters. National/Congressional interest in fuels management pilot project (Herger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group Forest Recovery Act) for intensive forest management. Economic effects to communities dependent on timber industry and tourism. Planned music festival in Quincy next weekend. Lack of sufficient suppression resources. Limited communications due to terrain and large incident area. Possible threat to Hwy 70 in the Cold Fire area.

Unit/Fire name: MNF - Soda Complex -
IC/IMT: Heintz
Critical Needs: 16 T2 Crews,3T2 Helo,s,6 dozers7WT,11 Overhead
Problems / concerns: Big Incident has structures within fire area

Unit/Fire name: TGU - Lightning - 11,881 acres
IC/IMT: Sisneros
Critical Needs: 6 STRIKE TEAMS OF TYPE 1 HANDCREWS, 2 STRIKE TEAMS OF TYPE 2 HANDCREWS, 2 STRIKE TEAMS OF TYPE 3 ENGINES.
Problems / concerns: PRIORITY'S 1. 1-8 LAT 40 14.13 LNG 121 54.7 ANTELOPE CRK FIRE 4,200 ACRES 20% CONTAINED 2. 1-1 LAT 40 08.74 LNG 121 51.74 MILL CRK FIRE 7500 ACRES 0% CONTAINED. 3. 3-9 LAT 40 14.65 LNG 122 40.23 VESTAL FIRE 181 ACRES 95% CONTAINED 4. ASSIST SHF WITH THE NOBLE INC TO KEEP FIRE FROM ENTERING TGU DPA PRESENT FIRES ARE LOCATED IN THE AREAS OF THE FINLEY AND CAMPBELL FIRES, THEREFORE THEY HAVE LARGE GROWTH POTENTIAL. ACCESS PROBLEMS INTO THE MILL INC, LONG SLOW TRAVEL FOR GROUND RESOURCES.

Unit/Fire name: KNF- Siskyiou complex - 4,000 acres
IC/IMT: Paul
Critical Needs: Airtankers,Helo1(2),Helo2(2),Helo3(2), HC1,(10),HC2,(8),Helm (5), Hecm (10)
Problems / concerns: Steep, inaccessible terrain fires are well established and due to access, fuels, topography will have significant growth over an extended timeframe before containment/control can be achieved. Air support and type 1 crews are essential to any success. Continued burnouts will be initiated over the next week,Helicopters could provide critical support.

Unit/Fire name: SRF - Mad Complex - 1400 acres
IC/IMT: Hays
Critical Needs:Safety Officers-Helicopters-Type 1 crews-Logistics-Misc. Operational overhead
Problems / concerns: Limited resources. Swim, Bonanza and Nielson are over 100 acres and the Travis is over 600 acres. Unable to staff all fires.

Unit/Fire name: SRF - Hell’s Half - 1,142 acres
IC/IMT: Johnson
Critical Needs:Helicopter 2, Overhead ICT3, SOFR, DIVS, TFLD, DOZB,STRC,TYPE 1 CREWS, LOGISTICS, BCMG, ORDM,SPUL,FOBS,RESL/SITL
Problems / concerns: Fire activity for 6/24 included major acreage increases. Increased perimeter sizes resulted in less area effectively staffed due to overhead and crew shortages. Smoke contribution in the North Coast Air Basin was and will continue to be substantial. Plantation loss on 6/24 was significant, with more expected. Habitat loss for key fisheries and faunal species is expected. Concerns over the lack of available suppression overhead, and aircraft limit options for any aggressive suppression strategies. Associated support functions not filled have resulted in limiting the amount of support the district resources can handle. Continued inability to fill orders results in the fire's potential to enter into residential areas, expected later this week.

Unit/Fire name: SRF - Ukonom - 1,250 acres
IC/IMT: Annand
Critical Needs: Communications Repeaters (2 each); Type 2 Helicopters (2 each); Type 1 Crews (5 each); Type 2 Crews (5 each)
Problems / concerns: Lack of repeaters hinders significant actions due to safety concerns. Steep terrain with roll outs causing ignitions outside containment lines. Access issues related to steep terrain and heavy fuels, with few natural barriers. Unable to take significant actions without aerial support. Helicopter support is a high priority for safety. Jake fire has merged with the Portuguese fire and continues to threaten structures within the Salmon River drainage. Mountain, Merrill, and Jake fires are threatening important Cultural resources and impacting fisheries. Wooley Creek historical cabins (used by President Hoover) are in danger in addition to private property in the area. Timber resources and watersheds are of concern.

Unit/Fire name: SRF - Blue - 225 acres
IC/IMT: Rakish
Critical Needs: None listed
Problems / concerns: Fire is inaccessible, in very steep and rugged terrain. Type 1 crews and T2 copters are needed to check fire spread in the drainage in order to keep fire within the headwaters area.