Cedar Creek Fire September 26, 2022 Daily Update 8:30 AM

West Zone Operations: Northwest Incident Management Team 9 has officially taken command of the West Zone Cedar Creek Fire as of 6:00 this morning. Incident Commander Tyson Albrecht will carry over the leader’s intent and incident objectives set forth from Team 3. This will provide continued safety of firefighters and public, protection of infrastructure, and preservation of natural resources. With moderated fire behavior, crews, equipment, and helicopters were able to make progress on all divisions of the fire yesterday. Firing operations were marginally successful, bringing fire closer to control lines in the north toward the Forest Service Road 19, and in the south and southwest toward established containment lines. Firing operations will continue in these areas as conditions allow in the next few days. Smoke is expected to be visible to the surrounding communities due to these operations. Firefighters will begin a swing shift tonight to ensure that the fire remains within control lines. The west side of the fire has very little visible smoke and personnel were able to remove the wrap from the Huckleberry Lookout. On other areas of the fire, work continues to secure with mop-up and prepare control lines with thinning and chipping.

East Zone Operations: Operators and firefighters continue working on the shaded fuel breaks along Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway/ Highway 46, Forest Service Road 4630, Forest Service Road 4636, and Charlton Lake Road. To keep the public and our firefighters safe, please continue to observe the Forest Closure. The large machines used to help create the shaded fuel break can throw large chunks of wood, quickly and with great force, which can damage anything they hit. Advantageous weather conditions continue to enable firefighting crews to make steady progress cleaning up fire breaks and creating defensible spaces. Fire crews have begun to remove firefighting equipment, such as pumps and hoses, from the Twin and Davis Lake areas, and sprinklers, hoses, pumps, and pumpkin tanks from the Odell Lake area. This equipment, which is used to protect structures, will be transferred to other areas of the fire. Fire behavior is expected to be low, with minor creeping in sun-exposed needle litter. Isolated torching is possible where dry lichen can act as a ladder from smoldering ground fires to the tops of trees. Any fire spread is expected to be limited in scope with no perimeter growth expected.

Weather: Weather similar to yesterday is forecast through today and Tuesday, with warm temperatures and low humidity recovery overnight. Winds will be out of the southeast and terrain driven through the drying trend. A dry cold front is expected Wednesday bringing with it stronger winds and marine moisture.  

Closures: The Deschutes National Forest and Willamette National Forest both have closures and fire restrictions in effect. Please visit Willamette National Forest and Deschutes National Forest for the most recent closure orders and maps. The Incident Command Post has moved from Elijah Bristow State Park to the industrial park in Oakridge and established a camping area for firefighters near the Hills Creek Dam is in use by firefighters and closed to the public. A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is in place. The use of drones is prohibited in the fire area, please make it safe for our firefighters to use aircraft on the fire. Pacific Crest Trail hikers should visit pcta.org for current information.

Smoke: For current conditions, see Fire.airnow.gov, oakridgeair.org, and LRAPA – Today’s Current Air Quality. Smoke Forecast Outlooks are available at https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook. 

Evacuations: An updated map of the evacuation areas is available at www.LaneCountyOR.gov/CedarCreek. Sign-up for emergency mobile alerts by going to oralert.gov. Please check with Lane County Sheriff’s Office at 541-682-4150 and Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office at 541-693-6911 for updates and changes.  

Online: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8307/ | www.facebook.com/CedarCreekFire2022/ www.tinyurl.com/cedarcreekfireyoutube | 

Fire Information Line: 541-201-2335, 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM | For Media Inquiries: 541-327-9925 | 

 Email: [email protected]