FINAL ARCHIE CREEK UPDATE

Archie Creek and Thielsen Fires Update October 4, 2020

Incident Commander Mike Dueitt

Hours: 8 am-8 pm

Special Notes: Smoldering logs and stumps in the interior of the fire will continue to put up smoke until winter rains end the fire season. Firefighters are patrolling the fire and will extinguish any hot spots that pose a threat to containment lines. Haze from California fires may be visible again today.

Areas within the fire perimeter are CLOSED to the public. Only residents and fire personnel are allowed in the area. Entry into the fire area is not only dangerous, but can endanger firefighters and their ability to do their work. Hazards include isolated hot spots and fire, heavy equipment and falling trees.

Today the Southern Area Red Team will meet with Pacific Northwest Team 12 Type 2 incident management team to begin transitioning management of the Archie Creek and Thielsen Fires. In preparation of that, an incident command post is being set up in Glide as the current command post moves out of the Douglas County Fairgrounds. Tomorrow Team 12 will shadow the Red Team and on Tuesday they will assume command of the fires.

Archie Creek Fire: The Archie Creek Fire is east of Roseburg in the North Umpqua corridor on state, private and federal land. It has burned 131,542 acres and is 86 percent contained. There are currently 605 personnel assigned. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Personnel and Equipment: 16 Type 2 hand crews, 2 helicopters, 1 fixed wing air attack, 23 engines, 14 bulldozers, 9 water tenders, 3 masticators, 2 skidgines, 11 excavators, 6 chippers and 2 dump trucks.

The Southern Area Red Team continues to manage Archie Creek Fire operations on Umpqua National Forest lands and Oregon and California (O&C) lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, while a Douglas Forest Protective Association local Type 3 incident management team, with Incident Commander Paul Ritter, continues to mop up and patrol firelines on private lands. The teams work collaboratively to protect homes, timber and other values.

Fire behavior will be minimal today as smoldering in stumps, dead trees and logs continues. Creeping fire may occur in areas where trees have dropped their needles or leaves, but no fire perimeter growth is expected. Firefighters will continue mopping up some areas, especially where there are indirect firelines, containment lines set back from the fire’s edge where burnable vegetation is between the fire and containment line. This is in the Zig Zag Creek and Trapper Creek areas on the northeast flank of the fire and steep areas in the southeast and south flanks. Firefighters are mostly transitioning to patrol. The largest remaining task is removing hazard trees along Rock Creek Road, Wright Creek and the Cool Water area to make these areas safe. As work is completed, firefighters and equipment are being released from the fire.

Crews will continue with suppression repair on Umpqua National Forest and Bureau of Land Management-managed lands. Chippers, excavators and dump trucks are repairing damage caused by fighting the fire, not for damage from the fire itself. Examples of suppression repair work in progress are installing water bars on firelines for proper drainage, especially on steep slopes. Crews are chipping brush along drainage ditches and hauling out trees felled to construct firelines. Suppression repair work is done in concert with agency resource advisors to meet resource protection standards.

Thielsen Fire: The Thielsen Fire is located five miles north of Crater Lake near Diamond Lake Resort. It has burned 9,975 acres and is 71 percent contained. There are currently 192 personnel assigned. Cause: unknown.

Personnel and Equipment: 3 Type 2 hand crews, 1 helicopter, 4 engines, 3 bulldozers, 6 water tenders, 2 skidders, 1 masticator, 4 excavators, 1 tub grinder and 5 dump trucks.

The fire continues to smolder in large stumps and deep duff with some isolated single tree torching. Yesterday fire crews conducted mop up and suppression repairs along containment lines. Today, mop up and suppression repairs will continue, and firefighters will continue improving a shaded fuel break along Forest Service Road 60.

Help for Fire Victims: Information on disaster aid and organizations helping victims of the Archie Creek Fire can be found at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/article/7176/57029/

Evacuations, Shelter Areas: An interactive map of the current evacuation area can be found at www.dcso.com/evacuations. For more evacuation information, visit the Douglas County Sheriff website www.dcso.com/evacuations and Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DouglasCoSO

The Douglas County Fairgrounds has full RV spaces, electric hookup spaces and dry camping available. They also have stalls and arenas for livestock and farm animals. Contact Ciera Keith at (541) 440-4394.

Air quality: See the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality at http://www.oregon.gov/deq

Closures:

• Roads – Highway 138E is open, but delays should be expected. The route to Miller Lake via FS Road 9772 remains closed from the intersection with Hwy. 97 to the intersection with FS Road 110 due to firefighter traffic. Drivers are being directed to take FS Road 9774 to connect with FS Road 110 as an alternative route. See www.tripcheck.com for updates on highway closures.

• Bureau of Land Management – All BLM-managed lands in the Swiftwater Resource Area east of the Willamette Meridan, Range 3 and 4 boundary line, and north of Little River Road are closed. This includes Rock Creek Road from the end of Douglas County road maintenance to the boundary of the Roseburg and Northwest Oregon BLM District line, and all BLM recreation sites in the closure boundary, including Rock Creek, Lone Pine, Millpond, Scaredman and Susan Creek campgrounds, and all BLM day use areas within the closure area. Cavitt Creek Falls Campground is closed for the season. For more information, see https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/article/7176/57115/

• Umpqua National Forest – sections of the North Umpqua (North Umpqua Ranger District ORDER NO. 06-15-01-20-425) and Diamond Lake Districts (Diamond Lake Ranger District ORDER NO. 06-15-03-20-426) remain under a fire closure order. Umpqua Hot Springs, fire lookouts, cabins and group picnic sites remain closed. Diamond Lake Resort and Diamond Lake are now open for public recreation, but Diamond Lake Campground is closed for the rest of the year. North Umpqua District closure: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/article/7176/57090/ and Diamond Lake District closure: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/article/7195/57398/ More information on Forest Service closures is available at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/umpqua/alerts-notices The Umpqua National Forest is currently at Industrial Fire Precaution Level I. The fire danger is Moderate.

Temporary Flight Restriction: There is temporary flight restriction for aircraft, including drones, for the Archie Fire. No temporary flight restriction is in effect for the Thielsen Fire. Wildfires are No Drone Zones. If you fly, we can’t. For more information, visit http://knowbeforeyoufly.org/