Archie Creek Fire Update - Thursday, September 24; Fire Now 55% Contained

(Incident Command) Special Notes: Although Highway 138E is open, you should not stop, pull over on the shoulder or leave your vehicle along the highway. Roadside hazards such as falling trees and debris flows remain, especially with the recent rain. Drive with caution at a speed that is appropriate for road conditions to protect yourself, other motorists and emergency and repair personnel. The Douglas County Sheriff’s office announced yesterday that the following areas have been reduced from a Level 2 "BE SET" evacuation notice down to a Level 1 "BE READY": Dry Creek, including Happy Creek Lane, Felix Flat, Elk Ridge Drive and Illahee Road and Little River Road from Buckhorn Road to New Bridge Road, including all side roads between these two points (Cavitt Creek Road). For more information on current evacuation levels, see www.dcso.com/evacuations Fire Update: The Archie Creek Fire has burned 131,598 acres and is 55 percent contained. There are currently 1,082 personnel assigned. The cause of the Archie Creek Fire is still under investigation. Yesterday firelines withstood the test of gusty winds. The highest gust recorded was 48 mph near the west flank of the fire. Helicopters dropped water on the southern flank of the fire near a 2017 burn scar to keep the fire from spreading to burnable vegetation in the old scar. “We hit the jackpot on the fire in terms of rain,” said incident meteorologist Brett Lutz. Although Roseburg saw only 0.2 inches of rain, weather stations around the fire area reported 0.4 to 1.3 inches of rain. Minimal fire behavior is expected today. Some line construction still needs to be competed in rugged terrain at the southeast flank of the fire, but for the most part, firefighters are mopping up all around the fire. Mop up is a progressive process. It starts immediately along containment lines and goes deeper and deeper into the fire interior each day until firefighters are confident that fire will not cross the lines. Fire hose placed all around the perimeter helps cool hot spots during mop up. Specific areas of mop up include the Panther Creek (4714) Road area west of Highway 138, Zig Zag Creek area, a half-acre fire outside the perimeter of the Archie Fire in the Pass Creek area, an area south of Trapper Creek and around structures in Glide, Idleyld Park and Rock Creek. Although fire crews continue to reinforce firelines by mopping up, stumps and other material inside the fire will continue to produce smoke. Firefighters are protecting homes and other buildings in all areas of the fire, including along Little River Road and they ae assessing structure protection for the Bar L subdivision. Other areas of special protection include the Wolf Creek Job Corps, Susan Creek Bridge, communications equipment on Scott Mountain and the Big Tree area. The Big Tree is still standing and the area around it is protected by a sprinkler system. Crews continue to remove live and dead vegetation around the Job Corps to reduce fire risk. North of Highway 138E, in the Steamboat area, firefighters and heavy equipment continue to work along Canton Creek Road to Trapper Creek to remove hazard trees and burnable vegetation along contingency firelines. As containment increases, firefighters will backhaul equipment, grade roads and assess what actions they need to take to repair damage from building firelines and suppressing the fire. This is to ensure fireline construction and other suppression actions do not have long-lasting impacts to natural resources. Personnel and Equipment: 23 Type 2 hand crews, 8 helicopters, 1 fixed wing air attack, 76 engines, 35 bulldozers, 45 water tenders, 8 masticators and 5 skidgeons. Help for Fire Victims: Information on disaster aid can be found at https://wildfire.oregon.gov/ The following agencies and organizations are helping those who were affected by this fire and are accepting donations. • Glide Revitalization Committee located at Glide Middle School, 301 Glide Loop Drive. https://gliderevitalization.com/ • Red Cross: also located at Glide Middle School • Glide Helping Hands Wednesdays 10am-2pm, located behind Glide Seventh Day Adventist Church (1/2 mile east of Glide High School): 541-733-6860 • Glide Baptist Church: https://www.glidebaptist.org/ • Greater Douglas United Way: https://gduway.org/campaigns/fire-relief-fund/ • Roseburg Rotary: https://www.facebook.com/RoseburgRotary/ and https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr… • Douglas Timber Operators / Umpqua Fisheries Enhancement Derby: https://donorbox.org/2020-archie-creek-fire-relief-fund • Saving Grace: www.savinggrace.info 541-672-3907 • Salvation Army: 541-672-6581 Evacuations, shelter areas: An interactive map of the current evacuation area can be found at www.dcso.com/evacuations. For more evacuation information, visit the Douglas County Sheriff website www.dcso.com/evacuations and Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DouglasCoSO The Douglas County Fairgrounds has full RV spaces, electric hookup spaces and dry camping available. They also have stalls and arenas for livestock and farm animals. Contact Ciera Keith at (541) 440-4394 for more information. Air quality: See the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality at http://www.oregon.gov/deq Closures: • Roads – Highway 138E is open, but delays up to 45 minutes should be expected. See www.tripcheck.com for updates on highway closures. • Bureau of Land Management – All lands east of Interstate 5, within the Swiftwater Resource Area are closed. • Umpqua National Forest – Maps and closure orders can be found on Inciweb at: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/closures/7176/. Additional information on Forest Service closures are available at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/umpqua/alerts-notices Managed lands east of Interstate 5, within the Swiftwater Resource Area are closed. • Temporary Flight Restriction: There is a temporary flight restriction for aircraft, including drones, in effect for the Archie Creek Fire and it has been reduced from 10,000 feet above mean sea level to 8,000 feet. Non-fire aircraft may fly over the fire area from 8 pm to 9 am. Wildfires are a No Drone Zones. If you fly, we can’t. For more information, visit http://knowbeforeyoufly.org/ Incident Commanders Mike Dueitt and Tim Keith For a printable version of this update, please visit Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/…/relate…/pict20200824-110250-0.pdf