Smith Canyon Fire: estimated 11,000 acres, 25% contained
Location: approximately 4 miles south of Iraan, Texas

Fire behavior was very active with short runs and short range spotting. Aerial resources were a critical asset with cooling down hotspots today. IH-10 is having a minimal amount of smoke impacting it. Resources will staff the fire late into the night working on fire suppression. 

Tomorrow, resources will return to continue fire suppression efforts. Dozer crews will continue to construct and improve containment line. Engine crews will continue to patrol for hot spots and spot fires over the containment line. Aerial resources will be utilized as needed.  

Smith Canyon Fire: estimated 10,000 acres, 15% contained
Location: approximately 4 miles south of Iraan, Texas

Resources have returned to continue fire suppression efforts. Dozer crews will continue to construct and improve containment lines. Engine crews will continue to patrol for hotspots and any spot fire outside the containment line. Aerial resources will be utilized to assist with containment line construction and to cool down hotspots until ground resources can gain access.

Fire Weather: Little has changed since the forecast issued earlier this morning. Light northwest winds this morning will increase this afternoon to
around 15 mph. Even though temperatures will be slightly cooler today with highs in the mid and upper 90's, relative humidities will fall to near 20 percent. No thunderstorms are expected in the area through tonight. Winds shift to the northeast and decrease tonight to less than 10 mph before increasing slightly again Thursday afternoon with relative humidities below 20 percent. Expect good recoveries overnight.

Smith Canyon Fire: estimated 10,000 acres, 15% contained
Location: approximately 4 miles south of Iraan, Texas

The Smith Canyon Fire continues to be very problematic due to terrain and drought conditions. Aerial resources were a critical asset assisting ground resources with the containment they were able to gain today. Many resources will work late into the night and all other resources will return early tomorrow to continue fire suppression efforts. Additional resources have been ordered to assist. Texas Department of Public Safety will continue monitoring any potential traffic concerns on IH-10.  

Smith Canyon Fire: estimated 4,000 acres, 0% contained
Location: approximately 4 miles south of Iraan, Texas

The Smith Canyon Fire is burning in very rough terrain around oil and gas infrastructure. Fire behavior remains extreme and growth potential is very high due to strong winds and dry fuels. Ground resources continue to construct containment line and use existing natural barriers to gain containment. Single Engine Air Tankers (SEATs) are supporting ground resources with fire suppression efforts. A Large Air Tanker has been requested to assist as well.

Caution: Smoke in the area could potentially cause hazardous driving conditions.

Threats: Oil and Gas Infrastructure 

Smith Canyon Fire: estimated 4,000 acres, 0% contained
Location: approximately 4 miles south of Iraan, Texas

Overnight, the fire actively burned into oil field country with very rough terrain. Due to safety, resources were pulled off for the night and returned early this morning. Dozer crews are constructing containment line. Engine crews will patrol for hot spots and any spot fires outside the containment line. Aerial resources have been requested for assistance.

The Oregon Department of Forestry IMT 1 (IC Hessel) is transferring command of the Sweet Creek Milepost 2 Fire back to the Western Lane District.  A Type 4 Incident Management Organization will be staffing the incident beginning 9/7/2020 at 7:00 a.m.  This is the last update for Inciweb.  For further information, please contact ODF-Western Lane District.

Effective at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 6, the remaining evacuation notices for the Sweet Creek MP2 Fire are canceled.

• Sweet Creek Road - The Level 1 (Be Ready) Evacuation Notice is canceled.
• Hadsall Creek Road - The Level 2 (Be Set) Evacuation noticed is canceled.

The evacuation notice for residents on Bernhardt Creek and Duncan Island roads was canceled on Friday, September 4. 

Sweet Creek Road remains closed between Highway 126 and milepost 3. While the immediate danger from wildfire has passed in that area, significant damage to the hillsides above and below Sweet Creek Road and the falling debris require continued closure for the safety of residents and other road users. 

Lane County Road & Bridge Maintenance will evaluate the condition of Sweet Creek Road during the next few days to determine whether the road can safely reopen. The road is expected to remain closed through at least the end of the next week. 

A detour has been established via Canary Road. The detour is signed and follows Sweet Creek Road to Forest Service Road #24 to Maple Creek Road to Canary Road, which joins Highway 101 north of Dunes City. 

Lane County Emergency Management would like to thank the Oregon Department of Forestry, Mapleton Fire Department, the Lane County Fire Defense Board, and the other responding agencies for their quick work to limit the spread of the fire and their continuing service to the Mapleton community. Lane County Emergency Management would also like to thank the Lane County Sheriff’s Office and Lane County Road & Bridge Maintenance for their support. 

For more information, including a map of the detour, visit www.lanecounty.org/sweetcreekfires.

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MAPLETON, Ore.—Management of the Sweet Creek Milepost 2 Fire will transition tomorrow at 7 a.m. from Oregon Department of Forestry’s Incident Management Team 1 to a smaller type 4 organization. As containment of the fire moves past 80% and mop up operations extend nearly 300 feet into the interior of the burn, ODF’s Western Lane District will resume responsibility for the fire. After the transition, crews will continue to monitor control lines and repair impacts from fire suppression activities.

Crews today and tonight will continue mop up and backhaul unneeded equipment. Most resources will be released from the fire over the next two days, though a small transition team will remain. Containment will be near 100% when the team departs. Heavy fuels and smoldering stumps well inside the fire perimeter may continue to produce some smoke until the
season’s first rains.

Reflecting on the team’s deployment to the fire, Incident Commander Joe Hessel remarked, “The Mapleton community has been extremely generous and supportive of our crews. We’d also like to thank the landowners, Lane County, and local fire departments for their support of the team. The great work accomplished before our arrival set the team up for a successful assignment.”

A change in weather over the next 24 hours is expected to bring hotter and drier conditions across the state. Strong east winds are also predicted to develop, creating extreme fire weather through Wednesday. As of September 3, the Western Lane District is in extreme fire danger for general public use.
For details visit: https://www.oregon.gov/odf/fire/pages/restrictions.aspx. For the latest information on evacuations and closures please visit: https://www.lanecounty.org/news/sweetcreekfires.

This will be the final update from the Incident Management Team. Further information will be provided by the Western Lane District.

MAPLETON, Ore.—Continued cool, overcast weather across the Sweet Creek Milepost 2 fire has helped crews push containment to 63%.  Mop up operations have reached as much as 250 feet into the interior of the burn.  Crews continue using infrared thermal imaging cameras to identify hot spots as they work along the fire’s perimeter.  Even with higher humidity and cooler temperatures, heavy fuels will produce smoke within the burn for some time.  Rolling debris on the fire’s steep slopes continues to challenge mop up operations and create hazardous driving and working conditions for firefighters.  To date, no injuries have been reported on the fire.

MAPLETON, Ore.—Low clouds hung over the Sweet Creek Milepost 2 Fire this morning, signaling a weather change that will aid crews as they continue mopping up the fire. A more stable weather pattern is expected to maintain an onshore flow for the next few days, bringing cooler temperatures and higher relative humidity across the fire. Overnight, crews used handheld infrared thermal imaging cameras to check the fire perimeter for hot spots as they pushed mop up operations further into the interior. Day crews will continue the effort. The fire is now 45% contained.

Fire managers have adjusted their estimate of the fire’s total size to 307 acres. It is not uncommon for acreages to change as more accurate information becomes available, especially when fires burn in steep terrain and dense vegetation. As fire activity subsides, it becomes safer for field observers to collect more detailed information about the fire perimeter. Field
observations, as well as infrared aerial imaging, are used to estimate the extent of a fire.

With containment increasing and favorable weather conditions expected over the next few days, some hand crews have been released from the fire. Aircraft and heavy equipment remain on standby should they be needed.

Evacuation levels have been lowered for residents impacted by the fire. Hadsall Creek is now at Level 2 (Set), Sweet Creek Road is at Level 1 (Ready) and Bernhardt Creek Rd and Duncan Island Road are no longer under an evacuation order. Sweet Creek Road and Hadsall Creek Road are both closed to all public traffic. While the threat of fire has diminished, the potential for rolling debris and falling trees remains. The Siuslaw River also remains closed from the Highway 126 Bridge to Tiernan Landing to accommodate helicopter operations. For more information on evacuations and closures please visit: https://www.lanecounty.org/news/sweetcreekfires.

Fire managers and local officials are asking for the public’s help in maintaining the fire’s excellent safety record. With the Labor Day weekend approaching, traffic is anticipated to increase through Mapleton along Highway 126, creating additional hazards for drivers and fire personnel. Travelers should allow extra time, drive slowly and be cautious of fire traffic.
Parking on the highway shoulder is not permitted between mileposts 9 and 14.