Region 24 Complex Fire - Fire Updates From During The Fire

Details

Published on Wednesday, 01 August 2012 21:17

Wednesday morning, July 25th

Early Wednesday morning, July 25th, Ainsworth Fire Chief Brad Fiala reported on the various sections of the four divisions of the Fairfield Creek Fire.

The Fairfield Creek Fire was divided into four divisions: Division A - south of the Niobrara River and west of the Norden Road; Division C - north of the Niobrara River and west of the Norden Road; Division E - north of the Niobrara River and east of the Norden Road; and Division H - south of the Niobrara River and east of the Norden Road.

Fiala reported, “Division C, (which the fire has reached near the Rocky Ford area on the Niobrara River), really blew up on Tuesday afternoon, July 24th at 2:00 p.m. near the county line between Cherry and Keya Paha Counties. Fire fighters had a nice back burn on the west side and turned the fire into a cornfield and got it stopped.

“The fire in Division A, which is where the fire started at Fairfield Creek, is cold. We had firemen in the area all night (Tuesday, July 24th) and the area is cold.

“I was nervous about Division H, which includes Jason Appelt’s and The Conservancy, had been burning south to Plum Creek. We had firemen on it all night Tuesday running the whole fire line. The firemen reported this morning they are very comfortable about it.

“We will continue presence on Division A with Wood Lake and Division H will be covered by Ainsworth. Springview and Cherry County will cover the northern two divisions of C and E.”

Fiala said, “The two newer fires, Wentworth and Hall, were scheduled to be nailed by air assault on Wednesday, July 25th. The way it was reported this morning at our briefing, the U.S. Forest Service has the three National Guard Black Hawks, two Huey helicopters, a Chinook, two aerial tankers and a snorkel.”

Previously, the helicopters were unable to dip water out of the Niobrara River since it was flowing water and had to dip out of Cub Creek. Permission was given to dip water out of the Niobrara River because the turn around time for the helicopters was too long.

On the Fairfield Creek Fire, there are a lot of hot spots, according to Fiala. The U.S. Forest Service was going in on Wednesday to start the process of putting out the various hot spots. That entails going in with fire personnel and equipment, locating each spot and making sure it is out.

Fiala said, “Division A and Division H are 100% contained as of this morning. The U.S. Forest Service didn’t come right out and say it at the briefing this morning, but I got the impression that they think Division C and E are contained, but will see what today brings with a shift in the wind.”

When asked about the total number of acres burned, Fiala said that the Forest Service estimates differ from his. The Forest Service is estimating over 60,000 acres, “but it is more than that.”

In closing, Ainsworth Fire Chief Fiala said that the new name for the fires is the Region 24 Complex Fires due the addition of the Wentworth and Hall Fires to the Fairfield Creek Fire.

Region 24 Emergency Management Director Doug Fox reported Wednesday afternoon, July 25th that the Hall Fire was 100% contained. “Mop up efforts will take about two days and if we have no heat signature for 36 hours, it will be out.”

“It is my understanding that the U.S. Forest Service made tremendous progress on the Wentworth Fire. There are still flare ups and burning timber, but it is hoped to be fully contained on Thursday.”

“The Fairfield Fire looks really good,” said Fox.

“The cooler weather and higher humidity really helped today (July 25th) and tomorrow’s weather looks the same right now,” commented Fox.

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Incident Management Team Incident Overview

As Of Wednesday afternoon, July 25, 2012

The Rocky Mountain Incident Management Type 2 Team B (Pechota) is coordinating management of the Fairfield Creek, Wentworth and Hall Fires with local and state fire managers. The fires are being jointly managed as the Region 24 Complex.

The Rocky Mountain Incident Management Type 2 Team B and U.S. Forest Service have 480 personnel in Ainsworth to assist with the fires. Estimates are that the Complex Fire is 50% contained and has burned 72,405 total acres.

The lightning caused fires started Friday, July 20, 2012. Within the complex, the Fairfield Fire has grown to 66,745 acres, Wentworth Fire 3,278 acres and Hall Fire 2,382.

Over the last two days, temperatures above 100 degrees and low humidity with Red Flag Warnings have created extreme fire behavior and difficult conditions for firefighters. Ten homes were destroyed and over 100 hundred residences and livestock have been threatened. The Team is working cooperatively with several local Volunteer Fire Departments and the Red Cross is assisting local residents.

Yesterday, the Governor visited the fire and affected communities. “I am very impressed with the interagency coordination. I’d like to express my personal gratitude to the firefighters and especially all the volunteers working the incident,” said Governor Heineman.

Doug Fox, Region 24 Emergency Management Director, stated, “We currently have sufficient resources on the incident. If additional resources are needed local Fire Chiefs will put out a call for assistance.”

Additional resources have been assigned to the fire. Today eight aircraft will be providing water drops and six crews are expected to make significant progress.

Sections of Highway 12 from Springview to Norden were closed to public traffic.

Fireline has been constructed around the Fairfield Fire. Significant progress has been made with burnout operations and constructing lines around Wentworth and Hall fires. Crews worked through the night. The Team is coordinating and integrating fire suppression actions with the Ainsworth and Springview VFDs and the Valentine and Wood Lake Fire Protection Districts.

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Thursday, July 26th

Region 24 Complex Fire Update was given on Thursday morning, July 26th.

Yesterday’s (Wednesday) cooler temperatures and higher relative humidity allowed crews to go direct with line construction, while other crews worked to secure and improve existing line.

Today (Thursday) crews will focus on improving line, mop-up, patrol and structure protection. Air resources are dropping water to assist crew efforts.

Doug Fox, Region 24 Emergency Management Director, stated, “We currently have sufficient resources on the incident. If additional resources are needed local Fire Chiefs will put out a call for assistance.”

In the days ahead, residents will notice smoke from the interior of the fire perimeters as unburnt fuel is consumed. Weather conditions permitting, a burn out operation is scheduled for Friday. Residents will notice increased smoke from the burn out operation.

Fairfield Creek Fire

Mop up operations are continuing in the four divisions of the Fairfield Creek Fire area.

Hall Fire

The Hall Fire has fire break line all the way around it and they will work on mop up operations.

Wentworth Fire

The plan is to improve lines and look for burning opportunities.

On Wednesday, Division M Commander Mike Jackson (Division M is the southern half of the Wentworth Fire) supervised the building of a Dozer Line from hay fields on the east side to a draw in the middle on the southern edge of the fire area.

Jackson said, “We built a big box by squaring off the fire area with dozer lines to control the fire.

“Hotshots (U.S. Forest Service Personnel) were working with the bulldozers to cut the Dozer Line. They cut back potential fuel for the fire along the Dozer Line.

“Going up the unwooded slope the Dozer Line will be only one blade wide, but in thicker timber we are going to make it up to three dozer blades wide with the Hotshot crews extending it even more.”

On Wednesday helicopters continued to drop water on the Wentworth and Hall Fires to help control the flames. Forest Service Hotshots were near the fire line in the middle of the Wentworth Fire directing the helicopters. They would watch the water drops and then radio if the drops were on target or needed to be moved to catch the burning area.

Assisting Fire Departments

Ainsworth Fire Chief Brad Fiala reported that as of noon on Thursday, July 26th, all fire departments except for Brown, Rock, Keya Paha and Cherry County Mutual Aid Units have been released and sent home.

Fiala said that fire departments that came to help with the fire checked in at the Ainsworth Fire Hall.

“We had 65 fire departments checked in and I think there were 10 to 15 that didn’t check in early in the fire, so we had up to 80 fire departments respond to our call for assistance.”

Fiala is asking farmers and ranchers to keep their stock tanks full even if they don’t have livestock in the pasture during this time of drought.

“I realize this is an added expense, especially for those that have to run motors to fill their tanks, but at the start of the fire we were running out of water and it took at least 20 minutes to get to our tankers to get refilled. There were stock tanks near us, but they were empty. If the tanks would have had water in them it would have helped a lot in fighting the initial fire.”

Niobrara River Closure

The Niobrara River is closed downstream of Smith Falls State Park. Officials are hoping to open river access on Friday; however this is dependent upon resolving potential safety issues and fire fighter access needs. Updates will be posted when the river reopens.

Road Closures

Highway 12 reopened on July 25, 2012. Nebraska State Patrol recommends motorists use caution when traveling in the area.

Evacuations

Volunteer evacuations have been lifted for Meadville and Norden.

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Friday, July 27th

Highlights

Yesterday afternoon (Thursday, July 26th) the Wentworth fire made approximately a 2,479 acre run to the southeast almost reaching the Niobrara River. Crews worked through the night constructing fire line and provided structure protection. Good progress was made on the other fires securing line, mopping up and patrolling.

Weather

Last night temperatures dropped into 50’s with 90% relative humidity which moderated the fire’s behavior. Friday, July 27th, firefighters will take advantage of the temperature inversion along with cooler temperatures and higher relative humidity to construct line around the unsecured sections of the fires. However, in the afternoon the weather will change with higher temperatures and lower relative humidity. The inversion is expected to lift in the early afternoon along with a wind shift out of the southeast. Given these changes active burning is very likely again this afternoon.

Strategies

In Divisions A-H, M-N (N is a new Division on the Wentworth fire) and X-Z crews will improve line, mop-up, patrol and provide structure protection. In Division O crews will construct, secure line and provide structure protection.

Road Closures

No road closures are in place however local authorities recommend using Highway 183 as an alternative to Highway 7 as it will have heavy emergency vehicle traffic.

Fire Ban

Ainsworth Fire Chief Brad Fiala and Springview Fire Chief Scott Hallock have announced an immediate ban on open fires in Brown and Keya Paha Counties till further notice. They are allowed to do this by Nebraska State Statute #81-520.02.

The fire chiefs cited the dry conditions caused by the drought as the reason for the ban.

Niobrara National Scenic

River to Open Friday

Currently the Niobrara National Scenic River is open for river recreation only from Ft. Niobrara Launch (Cornell) to Nichols Landing, Smith Falls State Park.

Firefighters continue to use River Road to access the fire line and continue mop-up operations on the Fairfield Creek Fire. Beginning Friday, July 27 the Niobrara National Scenic River will be open for floating from Ft. Niobrara Launch (Cornell ) to Rock Barn.

Visitors and those travelling in the fire area are urged to use extreme caution as emergency vehicles and firefighters will continue to be working in the River Road area.

The public is also reminded that there are still hazards to be cautious of in the fire area. Smoke may continue to be visible during the next few days as unburned fuels and smoldering logs located inside the perimeter continue to burn. Also, trees that may have been weakened by the fire could fall without warning. Please use caution near the fire area, and while traveling on roads adjacent to the fire area.