Firefighter hustle lifts Bootleg Fire containment above 50%
/Bootleg Fire update for July 26, 2021
FIRE DETAILS
Cause:
Lightning / Natural
Size:
409,611 Acres
Containment: 53%
Location:
South Central Oregon Klamath & Lake Counties
Total Personnel: 2,257
Fuels:
Heavy Timber, grass, and understory.
Initial Report:
1:45 PM, July 6, 2021
Last Updated:
10:00 AM, July 26, 2021
Coverage of the 2021 Wildfire Season is brought to you by Ace Towing.
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - As firefighters successfully patrol and hold the containment line around the southern area of the Bootleg Fire, activity continues on the northern edges.
Along the northwest perimeter of the fire, crews have been building indirect line utilizing forest roads from Coyote Creek, north to Round Butte. A burnout operation was conducted overnight to remove fuels ahead of the fire to stop its spread into timber stands.
“The challenge today,” said Pacific Northwest Team 2 Operations Chief Kyle Cannon, “is to secure the northernmost section of the fire north of Round Bute to the west side of 27 Road.”
Bootleg Firefighters setting a backfire in Division L on July 25, 2021. (Image: Inciweb)
On the northeast side, last night’s efforts focused again on the active fire along the Sycan River. Crews there are working to keep the fire off Winter Rim and from moving toward Summer Lake. Contingency line construction and structure protection continue around Summer Lake and Paisley. Incident managers are optimistic about the effectiveness of these efforts, but threats remain and evacuation levels have not yet changed. They encourage people to remain vigilant and updated on conditions.
Along the southern border, crews continue to progress deeper into the burned area extinguishing hot spots. This will further secure the fire’s edge. Firefighters have made excellent progress, with 98 miles of completed fire line in this zone. As they continue to patrol, any areas of remaining heat that could pose a future threat to the containment line will be extinguished.
Over the course of the fire, more than 90 fire departments from across the country have responded to the fire to serve the impacted communities. Today, an additional 120 Oregon National Guardsmen are arriving—six crews of 20—to join the firefighting force.
Weather and smoke conditions are improving over the next few days. Last night’s light, favorable winds from the north facilitated night operations. Although rainfall is rare this time of year, today thunderstorms are expected to roll in and produce rain tonight and tomorrow. While there is a danger of lightning, the rainfall, higher humidity, and cooler temperatures overall will assist firefighting efforts. Air quality has also eased across the state with most monitoring stations recording good to moderate air quality.
Public Information Map of the Bootleg Fire. Visit https://www.klamathfallsnews.org/bootleg-fire-maps for additional maps
– COMMUNITY MEETING
A virtual community meeting was held yesterday for the Bootleg Fire. It can be rewatched below.
– EVACUATION INFORMATION
Evacuations are rapidly changing due to the nature of this wildfire. Visit the interactive evacuations map at klamathfallsnews.org/bootleg-fire-evacuations.
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 report. Click to enlarge.
– SMOKE
Weakening high pressure means that there will be less smoke on the ground today than in the past couple days. There could be times where air quality could reach the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (USG) level, but not for any extended period of time and will likely be more sporadic.
Today's forecast calls for mostly moderate air quality around the region, with conditions slowly improving overnight as the atmosphere becomes a bit more unstable, meaning air and smoke will be able to rise more easily compared to the past several days.
Full report at: fires.airfire.org/outlooks/southcentraloregon.
– PROJECTED INCIDENT ACTIVITY
The fire will continue to be extremely active with gusty winds and extremely dry fuels. Significant acreage increases potential on the northern and eastern sides of the fire. Rapid-fire spread with high-intensity fire behavior. Fire will continue to move East/Northeast. Significant amounts of smoke will be present during day and night.
– WEATHER CONCERNS
Red Flag Warning 2-8pm Saturday for Haines Index 6.
Very dry, hot unstable conditions are expected Saturday, with atmospheric conditions that will be favorable for vertical plume growth. A Red Flag Warning will be in effect for the afternoon and evening due to the unstable conditions. Winds will become increasingly norhtwesterly through the day, with northwest winds prevailing for the next several days.
Look for a steady improvement in humidity and cooler temperatures into early next week, as a surge of moisture brings the potential for showers/thunderstorms Monday-Wednesday.
– HOW BIG IS THE FIRE?
As of, July 24, 2021, the Bootleg Fire is the largest fire burning in the United States at 409,611 acres. The fire is equal to 640 square miles. That is over two times larger than the entirety of Crater Lake National Park.
Information is provided by the Bootleg Fire Incident Command is current as of 10:00 AM, July 26, 2021.
Klamath Falls News & Cascade Firewatch’s coverage of the 2021 Wildfire Season is brought to you by Ace Towing.
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