The threat to homes and critical infrastructure has lessened considerably on the Cedar Creek Fire to a point where the remaining task forces and incident management team assigned are headed home for some much-needed rest. Our friends with Pacific Northwest Team 3 and Alaska are still assigned to the fire.
Lane County Sheriff’s Office reduced the evacuation level in all zones in and around the cities of Westfir, Oakridge, and High Prairie to Level 1 (Be Ready). A map of evacuation areas is available here.
Improving roads to serve as control features, firing operations, securing containment lines, and patrolling burned areas are ongoing firefighting activities. Area residents will likely notice an increase in smoke as firing operations continue. In addition to fire traffic, increased smoke and potential fog will affect visibility. Many forest and road closures remain in effect. For firefighter and public safety, please drive carefully, obey all road closures and traffic safety laws, and give firefighting crews and heavy equipment plenty of space.
Though Cedar Creek Fire is zoned and managed by two incident management teams, firefighters are working in close coordination and sharing resources. In the West Zone, the fire is backing downhill, flanking, and occasionally torching in dense timber. In the East Zone, the fire is minimally active, occasionally torching, and westerly winds may result in slight fire growth. These conditions are facilitating the consumption of unburned fuels in the interior of the fire area. Smoke will continue to linger, impacting air quality.
Oakridge Community Meeting: scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, September 17 at the Oakridge High School Auditorium. The meeting will be streamed live on Facebook.
West Zone Update: The western edge of the Cedar Creek Fire remains 3-5 miles from Oakridge. Pacific Northwest Team 3 sincerely appreciates the hard work and contributions made by the OSFM in protecting the homes and communities in and around Oakridge. Should the risk change, a plan is in place to mobilize structural firefighters.
As illustrated on the animated fire progression map at bit.ly/3S6IFUv, significant fire growth was associated with east winds about a week ago. Fire spread since has largely been associated with burnout operations intended to bring the fire toward containment lines while weather is favorable and to reduce the intensity of the main fire when it gets there.
West Zone Operations: Crews are having success with firing operations in the West Zone. Ongoing firing operations are intended to reduce ground vegetation between the main fire and containment. Yesterday, firefighters worked around Huckleberry Lookout and made progress bringing the fire toward containment lines to the northwest and south. These firing operations will help to secure primary containment lines. When conditions allow, air resources, such as helicopters, drones, and planes, are actively engaged in firefighting.
East Zone Operations: A hotshot crew went direct on the fire line around Charlton Lake where the fire spilled over FS 4290. Crews are strengthening the FS 4290 to serve as a control line to prevent future potential spread of the fire to the south. Crews are working FS 5897 to tie into the FS 4290 road to the north and to the Fuji Mountain trail and State Route 58 to the south. Structure assessment and protection is ongoing on the north shore of Odell Lake, including Shelter Cove and Sunset Cove, and the Diamond Peak subdivision. Road treatments are continuing on the west side of FS 4668 to meet 4660, creating a fuel break between Odell Lake and Davis Lake.
Road work is continuing on FS 700 to connect with FS 4630 to tie together Crane Prairie Reservoir and Little Cultus Lake, and around the southwest side of Cultus Mountain to create a fuel break for Cultus Lake. Work continues along the west side of Cascade Lakes Highway to create a shaded fuel break.
Weather: Today’s weather will be consistent with the last few days. Lingering low clouds and smoke may inhibit air operations. A low-pressure system is moving in on the weekend with a chance of rain.
Evacuations: An updated map of evacuation areas is available at LaneCountyOR.gov/CedarCreek. It’s possible that conditions may require moving back to a Level 2 (Be Set) or a Level 3 (GO NOW) evacuation notice in some or all of these areas depending on fire activity. Sign-up for emergency mobile alerts by going to oralert.gov. Please check with Lane County Sheriff’s Office at 541-682-4150 and Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office at 541-693-6911 for updates and changes. Go to bit.ly/3D51kvC to view a map. Lane County people can use the Lane County Sheriff’s Office Flash Alert site for information to support insurance claims for reimbursement for lodging flashalert.net/id/LaneSheriff.
Closures: Elijah Bristow State Park and Dexter Boat Launch are closed to the public because they are being used by firefighters. There are closures in effect to protect the public and firefighters in Willamette National Forest and Deschutes National Forest; see the links for orders and maps. A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is in place. The use of drones is prohibited in the fire area; please make it safe for our firefighters to use aircraft on the fire. Pacific Crest Trail hikers should visit pcta.org for current information. See a map of the fire area with both forest closures here: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/map/8307/0/137083
Restrictions: Fire restrictions are in place in Willamette National Forest and Deschutes National Forest.
Smoke: For current conditions, see Fire.airnow.gov, oakridgeair.org, and LRAPA – Today’s Current Air Quality. Smoke forecast outlooks are available at outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook.
Acres Burned: 93,427
Contained: 0%
Start Date: August 1, 2022
Origin: 15 miles east of Oakridge, Oregon
Cause: Lightning
Total personnel: 2,152
Resources: 90 engines, 47 crews, 116 heavy equipment, 11 helicopters
InciWeb: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8307/
Facebook: facebook.com/CedarCreekFire2022
YouTube: tinyurl.com/cedarcreekfireyoutube
Fire Information: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. | Phone: 541-201-2335, Media Line: 541-327-9925
Email: 2022.cedarcreek@firenet.gov
