The Telephone Fire started Monday afternoon south of King Mountain on the Emigrant Creek Ranger District on the Malheur National Forest. The fire grew quickly to 5,000 acres fanned by erratic winds. The fire perimeter is approximately located five miles east of Hwy. 395 and fourteen miles north of Hwy. 20. Strong winds pushed the fire south last night prompting Level 3 evacuations for areas east of Hwy. 395 to Buck Butte and south to Hwy. 20 in Harney County.
Northwest Team 8 and Oregon State Fire Marshal Blue Team assumed command of the new incident Monday night. A number of resources working on the Falls Fire were sent to the fire to do initial attack. Wildland operations used air and ground resources to attack the fire. Fire conditions produced plume-dominated fire behavior that required the need to disengage. Night shift focused on establishing areas to protect structures. Structural crews have already surveyed and completed surface preparation at several residences north of the new start earlier this week as part of a contingency plan for the Falls Fire. As winds shifted in the evening, Oregon State Fire Marshal engines were repositioned to provide protection to the structures on the southern edge of the fire. The OSFM crews will continue to patrol north of Hwy. 23 on the southern edge of the Telephone Fire. These crews will be scouting the new area to assess and establish protection plans for the properties directly adjacent to the new fire.
QUICK FACTS
Size: 139,507
Start Date: July 10, 2024
Location: 13 Miles NW of Burns, Oregon
Containment: 40%
Total Personnel: 1,663
Cause: Human-caused, under investigation
Resources Assigned: 49 hand crews, 100 engines, 100 bulldozers, 30 water tenders
Aerial resources available to the fire: two helicopters, and single-engine air tankers (SEATS)
A community meeting for the Falls and Telephone Fires will be held at the Burns Chamber of Commerce Tuesday, July 23, at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will also be live streamed on the Malheur National Forest and Falls Fire 2024 Facebook pages.
Monday, the Falls Fire became very active in the afternoon as southwest winds prompted growth along portions of the northern perimeter. The fire remains approximately 13 miles north of Burns, 11 miles southwest of Seneca, 7.5 miles south of Izee, and 2.5 miles west of Hwy. 395. OSFM task forces protected properties near Forest Service Road 47, in the Red Hill area, and along Hwy 395. Efforts to protect private property near Forest Service Road were successful despite challenging weather conditions on Sunday. Additionally, preparation work previously completed in the Red Hill area allowed for several OSFM task forces to be quickly reallocated to the Telephone Fire during initial attack. Overall, established control line held despite the weather challenges the lines held firm.
Tuesday, OSFM task forces will remain active along the northeast, east and southern edges of the fire. Engines will be strategically placed near values at risk to monitor the fire’s proximity. In the northwest corner, crews will be holding and mopping-up established control lines, and will look for opportunities to construct direct control lines to tie in slop-overs back into Forest Service Road 3750. Construction of secondary contingency dozer lines will continue along roads going north and south off of FSR 4781 from Snow Mountain. Near Forest Service Road 3750 and Forest Service Road 47, structure and wildland firefighters will continue to mop-up sources of heat along control lines. Firefighters will continue scouting for additional contingency dozer lines on the Forest Service Road 3150 and Forest Service Road 3160 to connect into the Forest Service Road 37 and Forest Service Road 31 road systems to establish a continuous secondary control line running east-west north of the fire. OSFM crews will support burnout operations and continue hardening surface prep at cabins and homes off Forest Service Road 37. Efforts to control hotspots in the Red Hill are progressing well and operations there are transitioning into a patrol and mop-up stage. Structures in this area are being hardened by OSFM crews ahead of an anticipated wind shift mid-week that will test control measures along the southern edge.
Further north, away from the fire perimeter, construction will continue on a planned secondary contingency line along Forest Service Road 37 just west of Hwy 395 in the Fisk Gulch area. This secondary contingency line is part of an alternate plan and will run east to west using portions of Forest Service Road 37 and Forest Service Road 31.
As the fire season continues, resources begin to reach their maximum deployment times which are established to ensure crew safety. As a result, the OSFM task force from Lincoln County will be demobilizing today.
Weather
Fire weather for today will be very active with dry and unstable conditions. There is a 30% chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon and late evening that could bring gusty outflow winds. Winds will generally be coming from the west-southwest winds 6-8 mph, gusts up to 17 mph. Temperature highs possibly into the upper 90s.
Evacuations
Evacuations were issued last night due to the Telephone Fire. Evacuation notices remain in effect due to the Falls Fire in Grant and Harney Counties. For the most accurate evacuation information, please visit the Harney County Sheriff’s evacuation map, or the Grant County Emergency Management Facebook page.
Closures
Due to active wildfires compounded by extremely unfavorable weather conditions, limited firefighting resources and County Resources, Malheur National Forest officials are temporarily closing lands within the Malheur National Forest. This closure means that the public is prohibited from entering lands, roads, trails and recreation areas, and facilities on the Malheur National Forest. A detailed map and description of the closure area is available on the Forest website and at any Forest office. Closure signs will be posted on the ground.
Telephone Fire InciWeb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/inciden…/ormaf-telephone-fire
Harney County non-emergency evacuation questions: 541-589-5579
Air quality questions: 541-573-2271
Smoke Outlooks: https://outlooks.airfire.org/outlook