Bootleg Fire grows 84,000 acres, despite a trace of rain
/Bootleg Fire update for July 20, 2021
FIRE DETAILS
Cause:
Under Investigation
Size:
388,359 Acres
Containment: 30%
Location:
South Central Oregon Klamath & Lake Counties
Resources:
Total Personnel: 2,250
Hand Crews: 47
Engines: 197
Water Tenders: 70
Dozers: 70
Other Heavy Equip: 24
Helicopters: 16
Fuels:
Heavy Timber, grass, and understory.
Initial Report:
1:45 PM, July 6, 2021
Last Updated:
11:00 AM, July 20, 2021
Coverage of the 2021 Wildfire Season is brought to you by Ace Towing.
UPDATED - 1:25 PM, 7/20/21 to include the ops update from Kyle Cannon.
10 Tanker (910) DC-10 drops retardant on the Bootleg Fire. July 15, 2011. (Image: Inciweb)
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - For ten days in a row, extreme fire behavior in the afternoon and evening has resulted in firefighters moving to safety zones. Yesterday evening, parts of the fire received a trace amount of rain from thunderstorms in the area. While the main Bootleg Fire merged with the Log Fire as anticipated.
Fire activity in this area was moderated by smoke cover decreasing fire intensity, so firefighters took advantage of conditions to improve the northeastern firelines. Toward the east, significant fire movement resulted in the fire spotting over Forest Road 28 toward Summer Lake.
On the north edge, firefighters made progress constructing a dozer line during the night and early morning while temperatures were cooler and winds calmer. By the afternoon, with increasing winds and temperature, the fire moved across Coyote Creek and refocused on protecting the Sycan Marsh Nature Conservancy structures.
MODIS Satellite image of the Bootleg Fire as of July 20, 2021. Click to enlarge.
Night operations were able to construct a dozer line to Long Creek and establish an anchor point near Nature Conservancy structures.
Firefighters continue to patrol 40+ miles of fireline on the southern and western flanks of the fire. There continue to be areas of heat in several locations on the west and south of the fire including the Preacher Flats area. As crews patrol, they look for places to mitigate risks to the controlled line of the fire.
Property owners are reminded to use caution when returning; hazardous hot spots and fire-weakened trees remain throughout the area. Please use an abundance of caution around these areas. Additionally, unburned fuels within the fire perimeter will continue to burn and produce smoke for weeks.
“Fighting this fire is a marathon, not a sprint,” said Rob Allen, Incident Commander for PNW Incident Management Team 2. “We’re in this for as long as it takes to safely confine this monster.”
TODAY’S OPERATIONS
Today, winds will be from the southwest with a Red Flag Warning from 2:00 PM to 8:00 PM for gusty winds and low relative humidity, resulting in the continuous movement of the fire toward the east.
Firefighters will work to mitigate risks by aggressively felling hazard trees. Crews will continue to work on areas where the fire has slopped or spotted over Forest Roads 28 and 34. If they are not successful in the next 24 hours, they will fall back to structure protection in the Summer Lake community, with possible Hwy 31 closure and a burnout operation to remove fuels between the residential areas and the main fire.
In the north toward Silver Lake, firefighters plan to close the gap of fireline between Long Creek and the anchor point at Nature Conservancy structures.
Firefighters are preparing secondary firelines and scouting for contingency firelines in all areas of fire growth.
Structural protection firefighting crews continue to progress and work to mitigate risks to structures. As crews move around the evolving fire, resources are shifted to more active areas of the fire.
Bootleg Fire Public Information Map (July 20, 2021)
Click to enlarge. Download PDF.
COMMUNITY MEETING
A community meeting is planned for July 20, 2021, at 6:30 PM. This meeting will be streamed and posted to the Bootleg Fire Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/bootlegfireinfo).
EVACUATION INFORMATION
Evacuations are rapidly changing due to the nature of this wildfire. Visit the interactive evacuations map at klamathfallsnews.org/bootleg-fire-evacuations.
Evacuation Centers
NEW SITE Klamath County
Thrive Church, 235 S. Laguna Street, Klamath FallsLake County
Daly Middle School, 906 S 3rd St. Lakeview, Oregon
For information or assistance: 1-800-Red-Cross and Facebook @RedCrossCascades.
CLOSURES
The Fremont-Winema National Forest is closed to the public in the fire area. Map and full order are available here.
SMOKE
Substantial smoke impacts likely in the vicinity of Paisley and Frenchglen and moderate impacts in the Lakeview area. Air quality will improve significantly in communities to the north, west, and south/southwest of the fire. Full report at: fires.airfire.org/outlooks/southcentraloregon.
A firefighter during nighttime firefighting operations. July 15, 2021. (Image: Inciweb)
PROJECTED INCIDENT ACTIVITY
The fire will continue to be extremely active with unstable air conditions and extremely dry fuels. Red Flag Warnings are likely for the next few days. Significant acreage increase on the eastern side of the fire with rapid spread accompanied by high-intensity fire behavior. Fire will continue to move east/northeast. Significant amounts of smoke will be present during day and night.
WEATHER CONCERNS
A Red Flag Warning will be in effect once again from 2:00 PM - 8:00 PM PDT on Tuesday.
Critical fire weather conditions will return again Tuesday, with strengthening southwest winds late morning through early evening, and minimum daytime humidity falling into the low teens.
This pattern will repeat itself through midweek with only minor fluctuations in wind speeds and humidity. Very warm, dry, and gusty daytime conditions will continue through this week, with southwest winds gusting near 25mph each afternoon.
HOW BIG IS THE FIRE?
As of, July 20, 2021, the Bootleg Fire is the largest fire burning in the United States at 388,359 acres. The fire is equal to 606.8 square miles. That is over two times larger than the entirety of Crater Lake National Park, and nearly 27 times the size of the 242 Fire that burned in Chiloquin last summer
Information is provided by the Fremont-Winema National Forest, Klamath County Emergency Management, Oregon Department of Forestry, and Northwest IMT 10 is current as of 11:00 AM, July 20, 2021.
MORE INFORMATION
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