Pole Creek Fire jumps lines, now tops 12,000 acres
Lightning sparked by blaze; ash falls over area
POSTED: 7:17 PM PDT September 12, 2012 UPDATED: 10:54 AM PDT September 15, 2012
Smoke pours from Pole Creek Fire Friday evening in view from Locus St. and Barclay in Sisters as it jumps lines, grows to about 7,000 acres.
The still-churning Pole Creek Fire jumped lines in the hot, unstable air Friday as it chewed through more timber southwest of Sisters, more than doubling in size in a day to over 12,000 acres, causing its own thunderstorms and sending ash raining over a wide area of the High Desert.
"Higher afternoon temperatures, lower humidity and a strong westerly wind caused smoke columns to form and rise to almost 28,000 feet," the Saturday morning update stated.
"Active fire behavior followed fire behavior analysts' predictions, testing overall containment lines," they said.
"Fire growth occurred both north and south within the wilderness, and breached lines on the northwest fire perimeter. Early evening fire-induced cumulus clouds resulted in slight moisture in the surrounding area, raising relative humidity and dampening overnight fire activity," perhaps the only good to come out of fire-caused thunderstorms.
Fire crews in the region scrambled to several small new fire starts Friday night after dry lightning peppered the region, while ash fell over a far wider area than the smoke itself, including Bend and Redmond.
NewsChannel 21 meteorologist Travis Knudsen said while the cold front brought scattered thunderstorms over a wide area, at least one lightning storm apparently was caused by the fire itself and the intense heat it's generating.
"Essentially, the very hot air caused by the fire is rising rapidly over the region," as a cold front moved through a bit earlier than expected, Knudsen said. "This rapid rising motion of air is creating a stationary storm over the fire, from this storm is where the lightning is emitting. So by this reasoning, it is fire-caused lightning."
More than 800 firefighters have been assigned to the blaze, which remains 10 percent contained despite Friday's growth. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Officials warned drivers could expect areas of limited visibility on highways 20, 126 and 242. Hwy. 242 (the McKenzie Pass Highway) was closed for a few hours Saturday morning for firefighters to access the blaze. It was reopened by mid-morning, "subject to intermittent closure," according to ODOT.
For firefighter and public safety, the large closure area was modified Friday to include a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) between Trail #3531(Four in One Cone) and the PCT Trailhead on Highway 242.
Information will be posted at all trailheads and access points from Elk Lake Trailhead north to Santiam Pass. PCT hikers will have a reroute options.
The closure still includes Forest Roads 15 & 16 (Three Creeks Rd); spur roads, trailheads and the Three Creeks Campground area. It now also includes an extension of Forest Road 370 to Forest Road 4601.
The closure still includes Forest Roads 15 & 16 (Three Creeks Rd); spur roads, trailheads and the Three Creeks Campground area. It now also includes an extension of Forest Road 370 to Forest Road 4601.
Closed roads are signed, barricaded, and/or staffed to advise the public of the closure. Closure maps and area descriptions are available at Deschutes National Forest offices as well ashttp://inciweb.org/incident/3244/.
The smoke again was being blown toward the northeast and into nearby Sisters.
In a rare voluntary health advisory, Deschutes County health officials advised residents Thursday night to "shelter in place" and seal their homes as best as possible during the worst of the smoke in the overnight and early morning hours.
The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office is monitoring the situation closely and will be at the incident command post until the threat has passed, said Lt. Scott Shelton, search and rescue coordinator.
Shelton warned residents "to be mindful of changing conditions and to not become complacent." The "level 2" precautionary notice is still in place for the Crossroads subdivision, Edgington, Remuda Road and the surrounding areas -- not an evacuation notice, he said, but a warning to be ready in case one is ordered.
Shelton also reminded that a large area south and west of Sisters is under a closure order, for public and firefighter safety.
Already, the fire has cost $2.4 million to fight, according to Friday's data compiled by the National Interagency Fire Center.
Key figures from the Oregon Interagency Incident Management Team 4 (OR IIMT4) will present two informational briefings at the Emergency Preparedness Fair in Sisters on Saturday, at Sisters Elementary School.
Team members will provide Pole Creek Wildfire updates and information at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. The briefings will include current status of the fire, expected fire behavior/activity, local weather trends, current maps and operational plans.
Fire Information Officers will staff a table from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. to provide fire information, maps, and fire fact sheets to visitors of the Emergency Preparedness Fair. For more information on the fair, please visit SistersCountryPreparedandReady.org.
Team members will provide Pole Creek Wildfire updates and information at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. The briefings will include current status of the fire, expected fire behavior/activity, local weather trends, current maps and operational plans.
Fire Information Officers will staff a table from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. to provide fire information, maps, and fire fact sheets to visitors of the Emergency Preparedness Fair. For more information on the fair, please visit SistersCountryPreparedandReady.org.
It's taken firefighters a constant rotation of five helicopters to get a grip on the Pole Creek wildfire.
"We've got Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3 helicopters. Each helicopter has an entirely different mission," Scott Chehock from the Central Oregon Fire Management Service said Wednesday.
Type 1 and 2 helicopters drop thousands of gallons of water hitting hot spots deep in the Three Sisters Wilderness.
"You can't put firefighters there because of snags, because of falling rock, and steep country," said Chehock.
Type 3 helicopters shuttle crews in and out of the fire's perimeter.
Throughout the day, helicopters are helping firefighters on the ground. But when it turns to night, a different type of pilot takes to the sky.
--writing found on KTVZ.com (Bend, Oregon)
--writing found on KTVZ.com (Bend, Oregon)
