Cougar Creek Fire Update for Thursday, August 1

Size: 17,602  Acres               Start Date: July 15, 2024                Cause: Under investigation

Location: SW of Clarkston, 1 mile west of Hwy 129 and Grand Ronde River intersection

Containment: 29%              Personnel: 618                            Fire Strategy: Full suppression                   

Resources Assigned: 11 crews, 2 helicopters, 44 engines, 19 water tenders, 23 heavy equipment

The Cougar Creek Fire is burning within a mountainous and remote area on the Umatilla National Forest bordering the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness.  At 7 PM yesterday, Complex Incident Management Team 12 assumed operational command of the incident.

Operations: Large fixed-wing air tankers dropped multiple lines of fire retardant along the Forest Service Road (FSR) 40 up to FSR 510 in support of firefighters on the ground yesterday. Crews mopped up smoldering remnants from Tuesday’s firing operation on Hansen Ridge and FSR 4304. Fire managers met yesterday with local land managers to ensure concerns about cattle well-being are addressed in the fire management strategy. Yesterday, the night shift worked on holding and improving fire lines.

Crews may continue to conduct tactical firing operations on FSRs 40 and 43 today as conditions allow. Fire engines and crews from the Cougar Creek Fire will assist local agencies with initial attack on any new fire starts within the Temporary Flight Restriction. Given the difficult terrain near the north edge of FSR 480, firefighters will dig mixed construction line. Structural protection is in place for the residences in the Grouse Flat and Hansen Ridge areas. Crews are preparing the indirect line to the west of Grouse Flat to Three Forks trailhead and south, along with chipping on FSR 43 and 44. In areas where recent burnout operations occurred, pockets of unconsumed fuels will continue to burn in the coming days.

Evacuations and Closures: Forest closure descriptions and maps are available online on the Umatilla National Forest closure website. In Washington, evacuation notices are posted on the Asotin County Sheriff website and Asotin County Emergency Management Facebook website. Grande Ronde Road is closed from Troy, Oregon, to the Highway 129 junction in Washington. In Oregon, a level 2 evacuation is in effect for Wallowa County, including all of Grouse Flat from Bear Creek Road, north to the State boundary and the Garfield County line to Grande Ronde River. There is a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) in place over the fire: https://bit.ly/46v7Poj. Drone activity is prohibited under the TFR as firefighting aircraft cannot fly with unauthorized drones present.

Weather and Smoke: There are 20-25 mph gusts forecasted along the ridgelines with low relative humidity expected as the area enters another warming and drying phase. The National Weather Service issued an Excessive Heat Advisory for today through August 3; rising temperatures will lead to increasing fire potential in the coming days. There will be south-southwest wind flows beginning today. Learn more about smoke at http://wasmoke.blogspot.com/