Single Publication

Fire Update

2023 SRF Lightning Complex & Redwood Lightning Complex

Monday, September 11, 2023 – 9:00 a.m.

Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 1

Dan Dallas, Incident Commander

Information Phone: 530-536-0767

Email: 2023.lightningcomplex@firenet.gov

Information Staffing Hours: 8 am to 8 pm

Special Note: This update covers 9 of the 20 fires being managed as part of the Complexes. The remaining 11 fires are listed in the accompanying Complex Overview. Those fires, totaling 1,748 acres, are contained and in patrol status. They are checked daily, and their size and containment are unlikely to change.

Current Situation: The 20 fires in this incident total 18,910 acres and overall containment is 18%. The decrease in containment is due to remapping of multiple “fingers” on the fire edges which have a long perimeter but small area, affecting containment percentage calculations. The fires described below total 17,161 acres. Lost Fire is in Redwood National and State Parks. All other fires described in this update are in Six Rivers National Forest. A total of 1,050 personnel are assigned to the incident. Current fire, weather, and fuels conditions on the 2023 SRF Lightning Complex are approaching optimum for using carefully managed fire as a tool to accomplish fire suppression and fuels reduction objectives. Agency administrators and fire managers, in consultation with tribal leaders, are prepared to implement a Strategic Firing Plan with the objectives of suppressing the current fires while reducing fuels to lessen future fire occurrence or intensity in the area. A Firing Group has been assembled to take advantage of strategic firing opportunities throughout the Complex as conditions allow.

Lost Fire (740 acres, 100% contained) – This fire is now 100% contained. It will be dropped from future fire updates but will remain on the Complex Overview. The only work remaining on the fire is ongoing suppression repair of dozer and hand firelines.

Pearch Fire (5430 acres, 8% contained) – Crews continue to patrol completed firelines and mop up and secure the fire perimeter as needed. Backhauling and staging of surplus supplies and equipment is underway. Yesterday, the Firing Group conducted a minor firing operation to complete the filling in of a 80-90 acre pocket of fuels on the west side of the fire. An area of active heat continues to back downslope into the Butler Creek drainage on the eastern side of the fire. Firefighters are aware of this activity and are watching the area throughout each day. There are currently no threats, and no action is needed at this time. The structure protection group remains in the area and a night shift of engines continues to work the Pearch Fire.

Bluff #1 (2169 acres, 26% contained) and Mosquito (2681 acres, 24% contained) Fires – Hand crews, dozers, masticators, and chippers have nearly completed constructing a containment “box” of direct and indirect containment lines around the fires. Fire managers plan to use both aerial and hand strategic firing operations to complete the objective of full suppression of these fires, while also reducing excess fuels to lessen the occurrence or intensity of future fires. Test firing has occurred the past two days, and fuels are nearing optimal conditions for proceeding to full implementation of firing plans. Implementation will be slow and methodical over multiple days to allow monitoring of effectiveness and to make adjustments as needed. Residents can expect to see more smoke during these firing operations. This is an expected result and not an indicator that the fires have escaped or present a threat. This operation has been carefully planned and coordinated with cooperating agencies and tribal leaders. Work on these two fires, as well as others in the Complex, is being closely coordinated with tribal resource advisors to ensure that important cultural and historical resources are protected and traditional indigenous cultural and ecological practices are respected.

As work on the “box” described above nears completion, crews are now working on additional priorities in Branch XX. Masticators are performing brush removal work on the Nickowitz Road, and this work should last another 5-6 days. The Firing Group did not conduct firing operations on Bluff #1 Fire yesterday, but they did perform firing operations on 80 acres of a flat bench near the southeastern corner of Mosquito Fire. This work will continue today.

Blue Creek #2 (3470 acres, 0% contained), Marlow (1577 acres, 0% contained), and Copper (1012 acres, 0% contained) Fires – These fires are being patrolled by aerial resources as weather conditions allow. They are bounded by indirect control lines to the east and south, and significant growth of these fires is not expected.

Monument (2 acres, 0% contained) and Let er-Buck (79 acres, 0% contained)  Fires – Due to limited values at risk, the remote, steep terrain and associated safety concerns for our firefighters, and the low probability of success using standard suppression tactics, these fires are being addressed with a confinement strategy. Terrain, natural fire barriers such as rock outcroppings, and old fire footprints where fuels are limited will be used to confine fire growth until season ending precipitation extinguishes the fires. These fires are checked regularly by aerial patrols to ensure they remain within acceptable bounds, and little to no fire growth has been observed.

Weather: Increasing onshore winds will allow for a trend of slight cooling and higher humidity for much of the Complex. Highs over the fires will range from the 70s to 80s. Winds will be mostly westerly. A warming and drying trend will return Wednesday through Friday.

For information on Closures, Evacuations, and Alert Notifications please see the accompanying Complex Overview.

Fire Information Contacts

Phone: 530-536-0767 | Email: 2023.lightningcomplex@firenet.gov

InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/casrf-2023-srf-lightning-complex

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/2023SRFRedwoodLightning

Redwood National and State Parks Information Hotline: Phone: 707-464-6101

https://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/conditions.htm

Hoopa Information Hotline: Phone: 530-618-2995 | Email: serene.oes@gmail.com

More Fire Information Links: www.linktr.ee/srffirepio

NOTE: For information about the Elliot or Hancock Fires which are part of the

Happy Camp Complex, please visit https://linktr.ee/happycampcomplex2023 .