WILLOW CREEK –  Clear skies for most of Monday allowed aircraft to fly and provided crews with bucket water drops to assist with fire suppression efforts along the eastern flank. The positive effects of last weekend’s rain will start to wane in the next few days as fine fuels such as leaves and grass begin to dry out.  A” Fire Weather Watch” has been issued for Wednesday and Thursday.  This means weather conditions will continue to get warmer, drier and windier.

Safety:  Temporary Flight Restrictions remain over the entire Red Salmon fire area, which includes drones. Remember: If you fly, we can’t. Please drive slowly around fire resources on Cecilville Road.

Weather and Fire Behavior:  Weather forecasts indicate an increase in northeast winds coupled with hot and dry weather arriving in the area as early as Wednesday and continuing through Friday that will produce critical fire conditions. Temperatures will start increasing from the 70s to the 80s, humidity dropping as low as 12%, and wind gusts up to 30 mph later in the week. Skies should remain relatively clear with isolated areas of smoke near the fire today.

Today’s Operations: Crews will continue to monitor and improve containment lines on the Colgrove Branch drainage along the western flank of the fire.  On the eastern side, crews will continue to hold the fire south of the Salmon River.  Additional smoke may be visible as crews continue to conduct defensive burning in the Methodist and Plummer Creek areas bringing the fire down to the Salmon River.  In the Forks of Salmon and other areas where there is containment lines, crews are starting to remove equipment.

In areas where the fire is contained, fire suppression repairs are underway to restore hand and dozer fire lines, roads, staging areas, safety zones and drop points in order to minimize erosion. Repair and road work includes installing water bars and pulling woody debris over disturbed soils.

Evacuation Warnings remain for Forks of Salmon, Cecilville, and nearby residences (www.co.siskiyou.ca.us/sheriff) and Denny to include the Miller Ranch area (www.trinitycounty.org/OES).

Closures: Areas and roads within and near the fire perimeter on the Klamath, Six Rivers, and Trinity National Forests are closed. More information is available on forest websites: www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/klamath/alerts-notices | www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/srnf/alerts-notices | www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/stnf/alerts-notices.

WILLOW CREEK – The results of the recent rain continued to help firefighters construct and improve fire containment lines, moving containment from 40 to 55%. The clear skies also allowed aircraft to fly reconnaissance missions and provided crews with bucket water drops to assist with fire suppression efforts along the eastern flank. The fire remained relatively quiet overnight. 

Safety: With clearer skies, air resources remain available to support ground crews as long as conditions permit. Temporary Flight Restriction remains over the entire Red Salmon fire area, which includes drones. Remember: If you fly, we can’t.

Trinity County Sheriff's Office Evacuation Update:Evacuation Warning for residents of Denny. Please remain vigilant to changing weather conditions and be prepared to evacuate if conditions worsen. This evacuation warning also includes the Miller Ranch.For more info and updates: https://www.trinitycounty.org/OES California Standard Statewide Evacuation TerminologyEVACUATION ORDER: Immediate threat to life. This is a lawful order to leave now. The area is lawfully closed to public access.EVACUATION WARNING: Potential threat to life and/or property. Those who require additional time to evacuate, and those with pets and livestock should leave now.SHELTER IN PLACE: Go indoors. Shut and lock doors and windows. Prepare to self-sustain until further notice and/or contacted by emergency personnel for additional direction.EVACUATION ORDER(S) LIFTED: The formal announcement of lifting evacuations in an area currently under evacuation.HARD CLOSURE: Closed to all traffic except Fire and Law Enforcement.SOFT CLOSURE: Closed to all traffic except Fire, Law Enforcement, and critical Incident resources (i.e. Utility, Caltrans, City/County roads etc. or those needed to repair or restore infrastructure). RESIDENT ONLY CLOSURE: Soft closure with the additional allowance of residents and local government agencies assisting with response and recovery.

WILLOW CREEK – Yesterday, crews successfully brought fire down to the South Fork of the Salmon River along approximately three miles of the Cecilville Road near Knownothing Creek. They implemented defensive burning near Miller Ranch, performed structure protection in all communities along South Fork of the Salmon and East Fork of the New Rivers, and defensive burning was initiated in Colgrove Branch.

Safety: Cecilville Road may be temporarily closed due to firefighting equipment, poor visibility, and hazard tree mitigation.  Weather and Fire Behavior: Very warm and dry with terrain driven winds. Fuel moisture in large materials remains low and susceptible to ignition. Thick smoke is persistent in the valleys.