Brattain Fire

BRATTAIN FIRE UPDATE

September 24, 2020 @ 9 AM

Please take a moment to read a joint message from Oregon/Washington BLM Director Barry Bushue and USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Regional Forester Glenn Casamassa in An Open Letter to Friends and Neighbors in the Pacific Northwest about Wildfires: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/r6/news-events/?cid=FSEPRD809403.

Yesterday:

Strong southwest winds blew throughout the day with ridgeline winds around 20-30 miles an hour. These windy conditions tested fire lines, but fire behavior remained minimal. Mop up and suppression repair/rehabilitation activities remained a top priority, as did snagging in the northwest corner. Chipper work will continue in a few days. Campgrounds in the fire perimeter received little damage, and outhouses will be unwrapped Thursday. Fire containment increased quite a bit yesterday, bringing the fire to 91% contained.

Today:

Fire behavior is expected to remain minimal. Mop up and suppression repair/rehabilitation activities remain a top priority. Haze will be visible from the northwest corner for a couple of more days where there is heavy down and dead fuel loading that continues to burn. Cooler temperatures and higher humidity will help speed up the cooling process inside the fire perimeter. The incoming local incident management team was briefed last night and takes command Friday morning after spending today shadowing the Eastern Area Incident Management Team. The Eastern Area Incident Management Team wishes to express their appreciation to Lake County, the community of Paisley and all of the cooperators who have served as hosts to the team for this incident.

Evacuations:

Area residents should sign up for Lake County Alerts, a mass notification system that provides residents with both emergency and non-emergency notifications.

Sign up at https://public.alertsense.com/SignUp/?regionid=1535.

Only one evacuation remains in place at this time. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office has issued the following evacuation notice:

Level 1 (Ready) –Highway 31 from Red House Lane (north of Paisley) north to Forest Road 29, also known as Government Harvey.

Forest Closure:

From Forest Road 29 southeast to Forest Road 3510 and the 28 Road east, all National Forest System lands and facilities are closed per Forest Closure Order 06-02-03-20-03. Forest Road 3315 is closed; the 28 Road is open.

Summary:

The Brattain fire started on September 7, 2020 and is currently burning on the Paisley Ranger District of the Fremont-Winema National Forest. The Eastern Area Type 2 Incident Management Team is currently managing the fire but will soon transition to a smaller, more localized team. Firefighters are battling winds, extremely dry conditions and shortages of firefighting resources.

SIZE:  50,751 acres

CONTAINMENT:  91%

CAUSE:  Human

PERSONNEL:  440

FIRE INFORMATION:

541-947-6243

2020.brattain@firenet.gov

INCIWEB: inciweb.nwcg.gov search “Brattain Fire” Facebook: facebook.com, search:

Fremont-Winema National Forest @R6FWNF

South Central Oregon Fire Management Partnership @SCOFMPFIREINFO

Twitter:

Fremont-Winema National Forest @fremontwinemanf

South Central Oregon Fire Management Partnership @SCOFMPFIREINFO

LEVEL 1 EVACUATION

Highway 31 from Red House Lane (north of Paisley) north to Forest Road 29, also known as Government Harvey.

SAFETY:

Hwy 31 is open but anticipate heavy fire traffic. Avoid the area if possible.

Temporary Flight Restrictions are in effect. Avoid drone use and report drones to law enforcement.