CA-KNF - Siskiyou / Blue 2 Complex - Klamath Thea Wildland Fire

Summary

In spite of the continuing dry conditions and poor relative humidity recovery, firefighters have made good progress holding the South Ukonom fire from spreading beyond the Little North Fork of the Salmon River and the Marble Mountain Wilderness. Firefighters have successfully built and burned out approximately 1� to 2 miles of fireline in the Little North Fork area over the past several days to confine the South Ukonom fire within the Marble Mountain Wilderness. A high pressure ridge will continue to dominate the region, continuing hot and dry conditions into Tuesday with poor humidity recovery. A Red Flag Warning for hot, dry and unstable conditions has been issued through Monday night.

The primary fire activity remains in the Marble Mountain Wilderness on the Panther and South Ukonom fires. Infrared flights (IR) continue to detect heat sources on the Panther fire in the areas of Secret and Onemile Lakes and west and south of McCash Lake. The South Ukonom fire IR flight detected heat sources in the Cherry and Sur Cree Creek area, lower Uncles Creek, Right Hand Fork, and the upper Little North Fork of the Salmon River.

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 in the vicinity of Hells Meadows and Secret Lake. The Caribou and Anthony Milne fires have seen minimal activity. The Siskiyou/Blue 2 fire will continue to back to the west. Firefighters will continue to reinforce firelines on the South Ukonom fire in the Little North Fork Road area and conduct burnout operations, if necessary. Crews will also continue to patrol and mop-up the fire areas and complete suppression repair work.

The Boise National Incident Management Team has added management of the Siskiyou/Blue 2 Complex fire on the Six Rivers National Forest to the Klamath Theater. The Incident Command Post is located at the Yreka Armory at the Siskiyou County Fairgrounds. Base camps are located at Whites Gulch, east of Sawyers Bar and at Orleans. The fires are under management of the Boise National Incident Management Organization (NIMO).

Current Fire Status

• Panther & North Ukonom fires - 75% contained, 49,808 acres
• Bear Wallow Complex (Anthony Milne, Caribou, & South Ukonom fires) - 75% contained, 49,548 acres
• Siskiyou/Blue 2 Complex - 95% contained, 83,337 acres

Activities Today

• Panther Branch - 4 engines assigned. Patrol, monitor, and mop-up any remaining hot spots in the Panther and North Ukonom fire areas.
• Division VV (South Ukonom fire) - 3 crews assigned. Crews will complete mop-up and patrol fireline.

• Division WW (South Ukonom fire) - 2 crews assigned. Patrol and mop-up fireline and monitor fire behavior in Devils Canyon from Yellow Jacket Ridge.
• Division U (South Ukonom fire) - 4 crews assigned. Mop-up fireline, patrol and hold line.
• Siskiyou/Blue 2 Branch - 6 crews assigned in 3 divisions. Continue chipping operations and fireline suppression repair on the GO Road area and monitor and patrol fire area.

Total Resources

14 fire crews; 12 helicopters; 11 engines; 10 water tenders; Total Personnel - 680

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 or the Six Rivers National Forest web site at www.fs.fed.us/r5/sixrivers. On the home page, click on "Current Conditions" in the upper right corner of the page. For current information call the Klamath NF Fire Information Center at 530-841-4451 or the Six Rivers NF at 707-441-3673.

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Basic Information

Incident Type	Wildland Fire
Cause	Lightning
Date of Origin	Saturday June 21st, 2008 aprox 02:00 AM
Location	Southwest of Happy Camp, CA
Incident Commander	Steve Gage, Boise I M T

Current Situation

Total Personnel	575
Size	183,453 acres
Percent Contained	75%
Estimated Containment Date	Tuesday September 30th, 2008 aprox 12:00 AM
Fuels Involved	Closed Timber Litter, 5,8,9,10, Mixed Timber, brush, litter,and slash.
Fire Behavior	On the South Ukonom Fire, fire activity increased this afternoon with moderate intensity understory burning in timber with occasional individual tree or group torching. Extremely dry fuel persists. On the Panther Fire, bowls in the high country continue to exhibit interior growth. On the Siskiyou/Blue 2 Fire, increased activity was observed in the Elk Valley and Blue Creek drainage areas.
Significant Events	Siskiyou Branch: Crews continued to monitor the fire spread, patrol and mop, as necessary, on the Siskiyou Fire. On the Blue 2 Fire, crews continued fire suppression repair on the western and southern perimeters. The Repair Group continued fire suppression repair on contingency lines. Bear Wallow Branch: Crews continued to mop up, hold, patrol and repair lines on the South Ukonom Fire. Road improvement on Yellow Jacket Ridge continued, and heavy helicopters kept fire on the northeast perimeter of the South Ukonom Fire in check. On the North Ukonom and Panther Fires, engines continued patrolling the western perimeter. To date, resources on the Siskiyou/Blue 2 Fire have repaired 14 miles of handline, 27 miles of dozer line, and 17 miles of roads.

Outlook

Planed Actions	A local Red Flag Warning has been issued for 9/16/2008 for unstable air conditions, high temperatures, low humidity, and isolated dry lightning in the area. Bear Wallow Branch: On the South Ukonom Fire, crews will continue to monitor, patrol and mop up along the constructed line. The Panther Group will mop up, patrol and monitor the Panther Fire. Siskiyou Branch: Resources will continue fire suppression repair activities on the Siskiyou and Blue 2 Fires.
Growth Potential	Medium
Terrain Difficulty	Extreme
Remarks	The Klamath Theater consists of the Bear Wallow Complex, the Panther Fire, and the Siskiyou/Blue 2 Complex. The Panther Fire (consists of the Panther Fire and the North Ukonom Fires) is currently 50,001 acres. Bear Wallow Complex (consists of the Anthony Milne, Caribou, and South Ukonom fires) is currently 49,653 acres. The Siskiyou/Blue 2 Complex is 82,501 acres. Total acres with in the Klamath Theater are 183,453 acres.

Weather

Current Wind Conditions	3-5 mph NE
Current Temperature	61 degrees
Current Humidity	24 %