North Pelican Fire Update September 7, 2017

The fire is currently at 3,425 acres and containment is now at 20%.  Crews continue to strengthen dozer lines from Forest Service Road (FSR) 980 to the fire perimeter.

The Rogue River-Siskiyou and Fremont-Winema National Forests have placed an area closure on the entire Sky Lakes Wilderness Area. 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.

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 FSR 3554, and south of FSR 3519

Thunderstorms passed over the fire area yesterday bringing high winds and some moisture, the Red Flag Warning for abundant lightning is still in effect until 11:00 pm today. Relief comes in the form of lower temperatures (60-70 degrees). Relative humidity of 52-54%. Winds will be southeast 8-10 mph with gusts up to15 mph. Moderately heavy rain showers are expected today. Gusty winds can be expected from the thunderstorm.

Due to the high fire activity in the area, fire managers made the decision to combine the management of the Blanket Fire, the North Pelican Fire and the Spruce Fire. The North Pelican Fire will now become a part of this Complex. Because of the size and complexity of the 3 fires, the Southwest Incident Management Team 3 will assume command Saturday at 6:00 am.

For current air quality advisories in Klamath County visit http://www.klamathair.org/. If you have any questions regarding 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/.

South Central Oregon Fire Management Partnership (SCOFMP) is an interagency fire management program that provides comprehensive wildland fire service to south central Oregon and northwest Nevada. The partnership strives to achieve a more efficient, effective and integrated interagency fire management program for all participating agencies on the land administered and protected by each agency.

For more information on the North Pelican Fire, contact the North Pelican Fire Information staff at 541-363-7412 or mail to scofmp.fire.info@gmail.com. Daily wildfire/prescribed fire information, maps and social media links can be found at SCOFMP Blog http://bit.ly/2sK5YHY