Tiller Complex Fires
Location: N and E of Tiller, Douglas Co., OR
Specific Location: Umpqua NF
Date of Origin: 08/01/2009
Cause: Lightning
Situation as of 08/14/2009 4:00 pm
Personnel: 30
Size: 117 acres
Percent contained: 100%
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Situation as of 08/11/2009 9:00 am
Personnel: 351
Size: 94 acres
Percent contained: 90%
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Situation as of 08/09/2009 6:30 pm
Personnel: 408
Size: 90 acres
Percent contained: 85%
Due to the discovery of six new fires yesterday and a predicted Haines Index of 5, the transition with the Type 3 organization was delayed 24-48 hours.
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Situation as of 08/08/2009 5:00 pm
Personnel: 434
Size: 85 acres
Percent contained: 65%
Costs to Date: $2,800,000
Six newly discovered fires in the wilderness area were added to the complex today. These “new” starts are most likely from the lightning that came through the area on 8/5. Due to the remote locations, five of the fires were staffed with smoke jumpers and one with heli-rappellers.
Suppression action has taken place on 35 fires within the complex totaling 85 acres.
Changes in acreage reported is the result of six newly discovered fires today. The team is
preparing transition plans for the Type 3 organization set to take over the complex on Monday.
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Situation as of 08/07/2009 6:00 pm
Personnel: 579
Size: 80 acres
Percent contained: 55%
Costs to Date: $2,100,000
Suppression action has been taken on 31 fires within the complex totaling 80 acres. Changes in acreage reported today is the result of a newly discovered fire yesterday and better mapping.
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Situation as of 08/06/2009 6:00 pm
Personnel: 468
Size: 70 acres
Percent contained: 35%
Firefighters continue to pick up new sleeper fires. There is continued good progress made on mop up of all known fires on the incident. Good humidity recovery overnight but minimal precipitation on the fire. Fire activity today was primarily creeping ground fires.
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Situation as of 08/05/2009 6:00 pm
Personnel: 413
Size: 70 acres
Percent contained: 15%
Suppression action has been taken on approximately 25 individual fires within the complex. The fires are spread out over a large geographic area, including wilderness areas. Firefighters continue to pick up new sleeper fires. Fire crews will continue with initial attack on all new starts within the established boundary. Firefighters will assist the local district with the suppression of any new starts outside of the boundary.
Steep slopes with an old growth forest characteristic are making escape routes and safety zones difficult to establish. An abundance of poison oak is growing within the fire area. Also snakes and spiders are a concern.
Escape routes, steep ground, snakes and spiders, poison oak…tee hee…”an exciting summer spent fighting fire…”
Tech-nu…..lots of that in camp, and poison oak should not be a problem..change clothes every day. That is what the camp laundry deal is about.
Snakes and spiders. Saving their habitat is why we fight fires. The Hispanic fire fighters will kill every snake they see, no matter the situation. It is their life experience. But spiders? Are they the carnivorous giant jumping spiders of the saturday morning cartoons? Wow. Scares me.
Any excuse to not go put out a spot fire. A sleeper. Hard work. Long hikes in the woods. But today, gps makes that a lot easier to accomplish. A lot less ‘hunt and peck” compass line fire finding. We were not so lucky 40 years ago.
But, since then, now that we have Wilderness and extreme geography, you do have to watch out for anacondas, giant jumping spiders, vampire bats, wombats and ape like creatures that skulk around deep in the forests.
What you better watch out for is our new forest diversity, the illegal alien Mexican drug cartel dope grow, complete with bad nasty pesticides, and automatic rifles and pistols, and a fair scattering of old tortilla plastic bags, empty beer cans, drip tubing and a the turds behind that windfall log.