North Pelican Fire Update, August 28, 2017

Although fire activity increased with yesterday’s warmer weather, the cloud cover that

Unsafe terrain on the west side of the fire

moved over the fire area in the afternoon kept the increase to manageable levels. With the assistance of aircraft strategically dropping water firefighters made great progress, extending current fire lines further to the west on both the north and south sides. Saturday’s western perimeter retardant drops were reactivated by fixed-winged water scooping aircraft to help slow fire progression into a dense stand of timber along the ridgeline. The lightning-caused fire was last mapped on August 24 at 1525 acres and 18% containment has been achieved.

For over a week fire personnel have been constructing line on the northern and southern perimeters from the east to the west but they are nearing terrain to the west that is deemed unsafe for ground personnel. Fire officials will continue to monitor the western perimeter by air. 

Smoke has settled back into the Klamath Basin this morning and is expected to continue through tomorrow. The Blanket Creek Fire, which is being managed by the team in place for the High Cascades Complex, can be seen at times from the Agency Lake and Fort Klamath areas. That fire and numerous others burning around South Central Oregon and Northern California are adding to the amount of smoke that is being experienced by residents throughout the Klamath Basin. A resource for obtaining the current air quality advisories for Klamath County is http://www.klamathair.org/. For statewide smoke concerns visit oregonsmoke.blogspot.com.

The Fremont-Winema National Forest Area Closure remains in place. This Order closes portions of the forest around the incident to all vehicle and pedestrian entry. The perimeter of the Area Closure includes all Forest Lands west of Westside Road, east of Pelican Butte Road, north of the 3554 Road, and south of 3519 Road.

If traveling on Westside Road or through the Rocky Point area, please be vigilant and drive with caution as emergency traffic vehicles are in the area. When smoke is visible, motorists are encouraged to drive with their headlights on. Please use extreme caution when driving near firefighters and equipment.

Should you have any questions surrounding air quality and related health concerns, please contact the Klamath County Public Health at (541) 882-8846 or visit http://www.klamathcounty.org/depts/publichealth/.

For more North Pelican Fire information, contact the North Pelican Fire Information staff at 541-363-7412 or scofmp.fire.info@gmail.com.