Single Publication

Fire Update

2023 SRF Lightning Complex & Redwood Lightning Complex

Thursday, September 14, 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 8 of the 20 fires being managed as part of the Complexes. The remaining 12 fires are listed in the accompanying Complex Overview. Those fires, totaling 2,489 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 20,284 acres and overall containment is 17%. The 8 uncontained fires described below total 17,795 acres. These fires are all in Six Rivers National Forest. In total, 961 personnel are assigned to the incident.

Fire, weather, and fuels conditions on the 2023 SRF Lightning Complex are favorable for using strategic firing operations to accomplish fire suppression objectives and protect communities, cultural resources, and other values. Strategic firing under current conditions is proving successful in cleaning up accumulated excess fuels on the forest floor with low intensity understory burns showing 2 to 4 foot flame lengths. Firing is progressing at a methodical pace that permits monitoring of effectiveness and making adjustments as needed. Engines are being deployed at night in locations where firing has occurred to guard against any unexpected fire behavior. To date, strategic firing operations have been used on approximately 1,300 acres within the Complex.

Pearch Fire (5832 acres, 9% contained) – Crews continue to patrol completed firelines and mop up and secure the fire perimeter on the south and west sides of the fire. Brush chipping occurred yesterday on a road near the southwestern corner of the fire . The Structure Group conducted training exercises to ensure preparedness in the event they are needed. No firing occurred on the Pearch fire yesterday. An area of active fire continues to back downslope into the Butler Creek drainage on the eastern side of the fire, well within indirect control lines. No fire movement occurred on the north side of the fire nearest Somes Bar. A night shift of engines continues to work the Pearch Fire. Today’s activities will be similar to yesterday’s.

Bluff #1 (2305 acres, 20% contained) and Mosquito (3028 acres, 20% contained) Fires – Aerial ignition by a helicopter and Unmanned Aerial System (UAS or drone) completed firing on the horseshoe shaped area of fuels on the south side of Bluff #1 Fire yesterday. This area was approximately 500 acres.

Using both aerial and hand ignition, the Firing Group cleaned up fuels in an area between a road and the fire’s edge in the southeastern part of Mosquito Fire.  They hand fired along the Cedar Camp Road extending to the north of the fire to enhance the road as a control feature and keep pace as the fire slowly moves in that direction. Aerial ignition was used to fire from a ridgetop extending westward from the fire’s western edge. Fuels burned well on the ridge’s southern slope, but less successfully on the north slope due to residual moisture in the fuels. These firing operations on Mosquito Fire totaled about 450 acres yesterday. Firing operations will continue near Bluff #1 and Mosquito Fires today, conditions permitting. Firing will progress northward along Cedar Camp Road and westward from there along a ridgetop.

Blue Creek #2 (3783 acres, 0% contained), Marlow (1627 acres, 0% contained), and Copper (1138 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 prior fire footprints where fuels are lighter. Fire growth over many days has been moderate, and no values are currently threatened. Blue Creek #2 and Copper Fires burned together yesterday, which was expected. Masticators are continuing brush removal work along the Nickowitz Road to open access to the south end of the fires.  Fire managers from the 2023 SRF Lightning Complex are coordinating with fire managers on the Happy Camp Complex due to the proximity of the Elliot Fire (part of Happy Camp Complex).

Monument (2 acres, 0% contained) and Let er-Buck (81 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 very little fire growth has been observed.

Weather: Hot and dry conditions will continue today and Friday as strong ridging remains overhead. Winds will be mostly terrain driven with light NE downslope winds at night and W winds in the afternoons. Highs will be in the upper 90s in the valleys and mid 80s on ridges.

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 .