Single Publication

Fire Update

2023 SRF Lightning Complex & Redwood Lightning Complex

Friday, September 8, 2023 – 9:00 a.m.

Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 1

Dan Dallas, Incident Commander

Information Phone: 530-536-0767

Email: 2023.lightningcomplex@firenet.gov

Information Staffing Hours: 8 am to 8 pm

Special Note: This update covers 9 of the 19 fires currently being managed as part of the Complexes plus one recent initial attack fire. The remaining 10 fires are listed in the accompanying Complex Overview. Those fires, totaling 1,748 acres, are contained and in patrol status. They are checked daily, and their size and containment are unlikely to change.

Current Situation: The 19 fires in this incident total 17,982 acres and overall containment is 23%. The nine uncontained fires described below total 16,234 acres. Hog Fire and Lost Fire are in Redwood National and State Parks. All other fires described in this update are in Six Rivers National Forest. A total of 1,006 personnel are assigned to the incident. Recent rains have brought a change in the fire environment. Fire modeling experts predict there is a low probability these fires will grow significantly for the remainder of the season. Current fire, weather, and fuels conditions are now optimal for using carefully managed fire as a tool to remove excess fuels from the landscape. Agency administrators and fire managers, in consultation with tribal leaders, are considering proactive options for reducing fuels to lessen future fire likelihood in the area.

Hog Fire (0.01 acres) – This initial attack fire was detected last Saturday in the southern end of Redwood National and State Parks. The fire is a lightning strike in a single cedar tree. The burning tree was felled and the fire is lined and nearing full containment.

Lost Fire (740 acres, 68% contained) – Fire managers were able to construct line around the steep rocky northwest corner of the fire, and line is now completed around nearly all of the fire perimeter. Suppression repair work, such as recontouring dozer and hand lines, is in progress. Backhaul of unneeded equipment is ongoing.

Pearch Fire (5172 acres, 8% contained) – The southern end of the fire in Divisions Z and J is contained, and crews continue to patrol and further secure this area. Crews continue to search for and extinguish hotspots on the western side of the fire. Today, a check line will be built around an 80-90 acre pocket of unburned fuels in the southwestern part of the fire, and, weather permitting, strategic firing operations may be used to reduce fuels in this area. A chipper is removing slash from an indirect line/road near the southwest corner of the fire. The structure protection group continues daily checks of hoses, sprinklers, and other structure equipment in the area, and unneeded equipment is being backhauled. A night shift of engines continues to work the fire.

Bluff #1 (2096 acres, 26% contained) and Mosquito (2580 acres, 24% contained) Fires –A combination of masticators, fallers, and hand crews is working to extend an indirect line north along the 13N13 Road. This work should be completed today. Mastication is occurring on the Gasquet Orleans Road (G-O Road) northwest of Beans Ridge. This should be completed in 2 days. The east side of Mosquito Fire is contained by direct line along the Cedar Camp Road in Division M. An indirect line has been completed westward from the southeast corner of Mosquito Fire in Division M. Mastication has been completed along an indirect line that runs from north of Bluff #1 Fire, along the west side of that fire, and southward in Division N. Crews are working on connecting the south end of this line down into Bluff Creek and across to the line running west of Mosquito Fire with handline. This should take one more day to complete. Four chippers are working to remove slash from the masticated indirect lines north, west, and south of Bluff #1 Fire. The cumulative effect of all these actions is the near completion of a “box” around the Bluff #1 and Mosquito Fires from which these fires are unlikely to escape. The box may also serve as potential containment lines for any future landscape-level fuels reduction projects that may occur. Work on these two fires, as well as others in the Complex, is being closely coordinated with tribal resource advisors to ensure that important cultural and historical resources are being protected.

Blue Creek #2 (3186 acres, 0% contained), Marlow (1545 acres, 0% contained), and Copper (837 acres, 0% contained) Fires – These fires are being patrolled by aerial resources as weather conditions allow. They are bounded by indirect control lines to the east and south, and significant movement of these fires is not expected.

Monument (2 acres, 0% contained) and Let er-Buck (75 acres, 0% contained)  Fires – Due to limited values at risk, the remote, steep terrain and associated safety concerns for our firefighters, and the low probability of success using standard suppression tactics, these fires are being addressed with a confinement strategy. Terrain, natural fire barriers such as rock outcroppings, and old fire footprints where fuels are limited will be used to confine fire growth until season ending precipitation extinguishes the fires. These fires are checked regularly by aerial patrols to ensure they remain within acceptable bounds, and little to no fire growth has been observed.

Weather: We will experience a stable weather pattern through the weekend. Highs will be in the 70s along ridgelines and 80s on lower slopes. Winds will be light from the west with afternoon gusts of 15-20 mph. The long-range forecast is for unseasonably warm and dry weather to continue through next week.

For information on Closures, Evacuations, and Alert Notifications please see the accompanying Complex Overview.

Fire Information Contacts

Phone: 530-536-0767 | Email: 2023.lightningcomplex@firenet.gov

InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/casrf-2023-srf-lightning-complex

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/2023SRFRedwoodLightning

Redwood National and State Parks Information Hotline: Phone: 707-464-6101

https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/conditions.htm

Hoopa Information Hotline: Phone: 530-618-2995 | Email: serene.oes@gmail.com

More Fire Information Links: www.linktr.ee/srffirepio