Bull Complex

Unit Information

Mt. Hood National Forest
U.S. Forest Service
Oregon
Sandy, OR 97055

Incident Contact

Public Information
Email: 2021.Bull@firenet.gov
Phone: 971-277-5075
Hours: 8 AM - 6 PM

Highlighted Activity

09/27/2021 Bull Complex Update for Monday, September 27, 2021

RIPPLEBROOK, Ore. – In preparation for incoming rain, crews made progress on completing suppression repair projects including constructing waterbars, repairing roads and clearing culverts. On the...

News - 09/27/2021

Crews strategically burn prepped areas to secure critical parts of the fireline.

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Following a round of lightning in the afternoon on August 2, four new fires were identified on the south end of the Mt. Hood National Forest. Three of the fires the Janus, Kola, and Ridge Fires were located in the southeast corner of the Bull of the Woods Wilderness in the Janus Butte area. The fourth fire, Round Lake Fire, was located in the east of the Bull of the Woods Wilderness. And a fifth fire, Ogre Creek Fire, was located on August 3 in the Round Lake area.

By August 18, the fires had expanded towards one another and joined to make up the Bull Complex (briefly called the Janus Complex). The fire is currently being managed Northwest Incident Management Team (NWIMT) 13. A fire camp is located at the Timber Lake Job Corps Center at Ripplebrook to support the firefighters with food, water, supplies, and basic care items. The Willamette National Forest and Oregon Department of Forestry are both actively engaged with fire managers. NWIMT 13 is coordinating with all local jurisdictions and maintaining communications with impacted communities.

Area closures are in place on both the Willamette and Mt. Hood National Forests, along with the existing area closures from the 2020 Lionshead, Beachie, and Riverside Fires. Closure maps and detail information can be found in the closures tab section in InciWeb https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/closures/7773/ and by visiting the USFS Pacific Northwest Region: Emergency Closures webpage, https://usfs.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=8e69381e35144962a835ee59aafba153.

Basic Information

Current as of
Incident Type	Wildfire
Cause	Lightning
Date of Origin	Monday August 02nd, 2021 approx. 12:00 AM
Location	12 miles NE of Detroit, OR
Incident Commander	Brian Gales, Northwest IMT13
Incident Description	Complex
Coordinates	44.879 latitude, -122.009 longitude

Current Situation

Total Personnel	338
Size	24,894 Acres
Percent of Perimeter Contained	20%
Estimated Containment Date	Saturday October 30th, 2021 approx. 12:00 AM
Fuels Involved	The two primary fuel models are timber litter and timber under story. Recent precipitation has increased dead fuel moisture across the landscape. Smaller fuels (one hour, 10 hour, and 100 hour fuels) have gained enough fuel moisture to limit fire spread. Moisture of heavy dead fuels (1000 hour) are rising, however, these fuels can still contribute to combustion, especially in sheltered sites. Live fuels and heavy duff in sheltered locations may also be available for consumption. Steep slopes and areas with heavy dead fuels are leading to roll-out.
Significant Events	Fire behavior remained similar to the previous shift. The primary area of activity was along Humbug drainage in Division A/W. Creeping and smoldering, with some isolated torching will continue through the shift today. Across the rest of the fire, creeping and smoldering continued. Crews are still finding heat in heavy fuels (stumps and logs) throughout the fire. Incoming rain this evening is anticipated to significantly reduce fire behavior going into the week.

Outlook

Planned Actions	-Chip slash created during road prep in the K/G division. Patrol and mop up perimeter and monitor fire activity in divisions A/W. Suppression repair will begin also. -Division K/G, mop- up the fire along the 6350 Road from DP - 121 to the Div G/D break. Patrol the spot fire below the 6350 Road, and continue mop up while also continuing to prep the primary containment line for future burnout. Chipping and some suppression repair will begin along with the removal of vegetation from primary containment lines. -Division P will continue to prep the primary containment line along with inserting equipment to support the curtain burning operations. -Suppression repair will begin where control lines and fire areas are In patrol status and no longer pose a threat to incident containment. -Resources are to begin back haul of equipment and supplies as necessary.
Projected Incident Activity	12 hours: Fire behavior is expected to decrease this evening coupled with the incoming rain. Continued burning of heavy fuels in sheltered locations is anticipated to be the only activity for the incident. 24 hours: 1.5 inches of rain is expected from Sunday night through Monday. Interior burning of heavy fuels in sheltered areas expected to be the only fire behavior. 48 hours: Rain and showers are in the forecast for this period. Smoke and heat from burning heavies in sheltered locations will be the only expected fire behavior. 72 hours: A brief clearing in the weather forecast for Wednesday will allow burning of interior heavies to become more visible. Fuel beds will be too wet to support any fire activity other than continued burning in the heavier fuels such as stumps and logs.

Current Weather

Weather Concerns	C1ouds were a bit slower to arrive today ahead of an incoming frontal system tonight. This allowed more sunlight which produced better mixing and low humidity than forecasted today. Minimum humidity values were 25-30 percent. Main weather concern is for gusty southwest winds. Winds are increasing and gusts are expected to reach 20-25 mph by 1800 hrs Sunday. Ridges and aligned drainages will continue gusting at 20-25 mph through Monday night. Rain will arrive this evening ahead of the cold front crossing early Monday. A second front crosses later Monday with continued rain. Expect 1.25-1.50 inches of rain ending Monday night. Rain transitions to showers Tuesday and Tuesday night with another 0.25 - 0 . 50 inches of rain expected. Dry weather to follow Wednesday and much of Thursday. Another front with rain looks to arrive Thursday night. Most of Friday and the following weekend appear to be dry under a weak upper ridge.