CA-KNF - Panther Wildland Fire - 49,029 acres - 75%

Klamath National Forest Fire Update 9-12-08

Incident: Panther Wildland Fire
Released: 9/12/08 ~ 6:00PM

FIRE UPDATE

USDA Forest Service ● Klamath National Forest

1312 Fairlane Road, Yreka, CA 96097 ● (530) 842-6131 ● www.fs.fed.us/r5/klamath

Friday, September 12, 2008

Contact: 530-841-4451 - Klamath NF Fire Info Center or 208-559-5367 - Mike Ferris, NIMO PIO

Very dry conditions and poor relative humidity recovery continues to prolong the Klamath National Forest lightning-caused fires. The next several days will see a return to conditions that will promote active to very active fire behavior. The primary fire activity however remains in the Marble Mountain Wilderness. The South Ukonom fire is expected to continue to spread north and east into the wilderness. The Panther fire will also continue to spread eastward into the Marble Mountain Wilderness. The Caribou and Anthony Milne fires have seen minimal spread. The Panther fire is experiencing low intensity surface fire with isolated torching. The South Ukonom fire behavior has remained fairly constant the past few days experiencing moderate intensity surface fire with group torching.

Firefighters will continue to build and reinforce firelines on the South Ukonom fire in the Little North Fork Road area, and conduct burnout operations as conditions allow during the cooler evening hours. Successful suppression efforts continue to limit fire spread outside the wilderness boundary. Crews will also continue to patrol and mop-up the fire areas and complete suppression repair work.

The Incident Command Post, previously located at the Klamath National Forest Supervisors Office in Yreka, has relocated to the Armory at the Siskiyou County Fairgrounds. Base camps are located at Whites Gulch, east of Sawyers Bar, and at Orleans. The fires are currently under management of the Boise National Incident Management Organization (NIMO).

Current Fire Status

• Panther & North Ukonom fires - 75% contained, 49,029 acres
• Slinkard fire - 100% contained, 374 acres
• Bear Wallow Complex (Anthony Milne, Caribou, & South Ukonom fires) - 75% contained, 49,328 acres

The fires have been combined into five working groups. Firefighting resources will complete all suppression repair work, and will take necessary suppression actions to assure containment lines are not threatened.

Activities Today

• Group One - 2 engines assigned. Patrol and mop-up any remaining hot spots in the Panther fire area.
• Group Two - 2 engines assigned. Patrol and mop-up south part of Panther fire area.
• Division VV (South Ukonom fire) - 4 crews assigned. Crews and engines assist with holding operations, prepare for additional burnout action, patrol firelines, and mop-up hotspots from previous night burnout in the Little North Fork area on the South Ukonom fire.
• Division WW (South Ukonom fire) - 3 crews assigned. Patrol and mop-up fireline and assist with holding operations.
• Division U (South Ukonom fire) - 3 crews assigned. Scout and prepare fireline for burnout operations.

Total Resources

11 fire crews; 6 helicopters; 11 engines; 1 dozer; 2 water tenders; Total Personnel - 352

Additional Information and Forest Closures

There have been recent changes in Forest roads, trails, and area closures. For current information, visit the Klamath National Forest web site at www.fs.fed.us/r5/klamath. On the home page, click on "Current Conditions" in the upper right corner of the page. On the Current Conditions page, click on the Klamath National Forest Closure Map at the top of the page, and below that click on "Status of Roads, Trails, and Areas Affected by Recent Closures." For current information call the Fire Information Center at 530-841-4451.