Lonesome Complex/Middlefork Fire
Location: 21 mi NE of Prospect, Douglas Co., OR
Specific Location: Rogue River-Siskiyou NF, Middle Fork Rogue River near Halifax Cr in the Sky Lakes Wilderness, Lat 42 43 10. Long 122 15 50.
Date of origin: 08/16/2008
Cause: lightning
Situation as of 09/17/2008 5:00 PM
Personnel: 690
Size: 9,056 acres (reported but an underestimate)
Percent contained: 15%
Costs to Date: $7,233,424
Estimate date of containment on 10/1.
Area closure has been implemented.
Fire gained at least 3,000 acres yesterday. Active crown fire crossed the Cascade crest and is burning on the Fremont-Winema NF. Fire is now ~3 miles W of populated areas of the Klamath Valley. Plans are moving forward to establish a second Incident Base on the Winema side of the crest,in addition to the current ICP.
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Situation as of 09/16/2008 5:00 PM
Personnel: 698
Size: 5,963 acres (reported but an underestimate)
Percent contained: 15%
Costs to Date: $6,697,666
Estimate date of containment on 10/1.
Area closure has been implemented.
Fire gained at least 500 acres yesterday. Active crown fire crossed the Cascade crest and is burning on the Fremont-Winema NF. Fire is now ~4 miles W of populated areas of the Klamath Valley.
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Situation as of 09/15/2008 5:00 PM
Personnel: 693
Size: 5,886 acres
Percent contained: 15%
Costs to Date: $6,104,755
Estimate date of containment on 10/1.
Area closure has been implemented.
Fire gained ~725 acres yesterday. Active crown fire. The fire is less than one mile from the crest of the Cascades and threatens to burn on the Fremont-Winema NF.
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Situation as of 09/14/2008 5:00 PM
Personnel: 558
Size: 5,160 acres
Percent contained: 10%
Costs to Date: $5,571,554
Estimate date of containment on 10/1.
Area closure has been implemented.
Active crown fire on the E flank. Perimeter spread on the N and S.
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Situation as of 09/13/2008 7:00 PM
Personnel: 512
Size: (no update, est. ~6,000 acres)
Percent contained: 5%
Costs to Date: $5,122,234
Estimate date of containment on 10/1.
Pacific Crest Trail has been closed due to anticipated fire activity adjacent to the trail. The fire is spreading unchecked to the S toward the Seven Lakes Basin. The fire has also moved W out of the wilderness area and burned over 1,000 acres of non-wilderness forests in the Bessie Creek watershed.
Burnout operations on the NW flank of the fire. Fire is currently active on the E flank in Halifax Creek.
Planned control operations have exceeded the preferred alternative WFSA boundary on
the north side of the fire. The WFSA is being revised and reviewed. Regional Forester
Representative team is in place reviewing planned strategies.
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Situation as of 09/12/2008 6:30 PM
Personnel: 443
Size: (no update, est. ~5,500 acres)
Percent contained: 5%
Costs to Date: $4,668,412 reported (understated, est. $5 million)
Estimate date of containment on 10/1.
Pacific Crest Trail has been closed due to anticipated fire activity adjacent to the trail. The fire is spreading unchecked to the S toward the Seven Lakes Basin. The fire has also moved W out of the wilderness area and burned over 1,000 acres of non-wilderness forests in the Bessie Creek watershed.
Burnout of the NW corner of the fire is planned for today (9/13).
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Situation as of 09/11/2008 8:00 PM
Personnel: 356
Size: ~3,500 acres
Percent contained: 5%
Costs to Date: $4,514,951
Estimate date of containment on 10/1.
Fire experienced significant growth today on the NW side of the fire, estimated growth 600-800 acres. Upslope crowning runs.
Middlefork Fire ~3,200 acres, Bessie Fire 69 acres, Lonesome Fire 411 acres.
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Situation as of 09/10/2008 5:00 PM
Personnel: 62 reported but not accurate
Size: 2,780 acres
Percent contained: 20%
Costs to Date: $4,500,000
Estimate date of containment on 10/1.
Blue Mountain Type 2 IMT (Batten) has taken over the fire from the local Type 3 team.
Middlefork Fire made significant runs both north and south of the Middle Fork of the Rogue River. Crippled Horse Spring overrun. Fire less than 2 miles from PCT.
Middlefork Fire 2,300 acres, Bessie Fire 69 acres, Lonesome Fire 411 acres.
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Situation as of 09/09/2008 5:00 PM
Personnel: 62
Size: 2,280 acres
Percent contained: 20%
Costs to Date: $4,125,000
Estimate date of containment on 10/1.
Burnout on West Flank to keep fire contained in wilderness area.
Middlefork Fire 1,800 acres, Bessie Fire 69 acres, Lonesome Fire 411 acres.
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Situation as of 09/08/2008 5:00 PM
Personnel: 62
Size: 1,564 acres
Percent contained: 40%
Costs to Date: $3,600,000
Estimate date of containment on 10/1.
Finished contingency line on NW side of fire for possible burnout operations. No announcement of target incineration acres.
Middlefork Fire 964 acres, Bessie Fire 69 acres, Lonesome Fire 411 acres.
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Situation as of 09/07/2008 5:00 PM
Personnel: 62
Size: 1,280 acres
Percent contained: 40%
Costs to Date: not updated, est. $3.5 million
Estimate date of containment on 10/1.
Middlefork Fire has crossed the Middle Fork of the Rogue and is headed E toward the Crippled Horse Spring and PC Trail. Old-growth forest, multiple value resource complex is burning. No containment effort. Let It Burn fire.
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Situation as of 09/06/2008 3:30 PM
Personnel: 62
Size: 1,180 acres
Percent contained: 40%
Costs to Date: $3,440,000
Middlefork Fire reported to have crossed the Middle Fork of the Rogue and is headed E toward the Cripple Horse Spring and PC Trail. Heavy inversion over fire, creeping and smoldering. Crews reportedly continue with indirect line on the W side of fire.
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Situation as of 09/05/2008 5:00 PM
Personnel: 62
Size: 1,130 acres
Percent contained: 40%
Costs to Date: $3,340,000
Burnout completed on west end.
Update noon 09/06: Middlefork Fire reported to have crossed the Middle Fork of the Rogue River and is headed east toward the Crippled Horse Spring and PC Trail.
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Situation as of 09/04/2008 5:00 PM
Personnel: 62
Size: 1,030 acres
Percent contained: 35%
Costs to Date: $3,200,000
Burnout in progress on west end of fire.
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Situation as of 09/03/2008 1:30 PM
Personnel: 62
Size: 963 acres
Percent contained: 35%
Costs to Date: $2,750,000
Smoke inversion over fire most of morning.
Planned Actions: Finish contingency line outside wilderness with possible burnout if conditions are favorable.
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Situation as of 09/02/2008 2:00 PM
Personnel: 62
Size: 923 acres
Percent contained: 35%
Costs to Date: $2,700,000
Middle Fork Fire: Continue to scout contingency lines outside wilderness boundary and hold fire within existing trail system. [In other words, no direct attack. As temps climb this week, there is a good chance this fire will blow up and cause $millions in permanent damages to Oregon forests. The perps responsible are Mr. Martin and Mr. Conroy. Their careers will be ruined if the worst case scenario occurs. Capice? - Ed]
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Situation as of 08/31/2008 12:00 noon
Personnel: 106
Size: 800 acres
Percent contained: 35%
Costs to Date: $2,600,000
Middle Fork Fire, minimal fire behavior. Lonesome Fire, smoldering interior, perimeter secured 200′. Bessie Fire, smoldering interior, perimeter secured 200′.
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Situation as of 08/29/2008 5:00 PM
Personnel: 100
Size: 760 acres
Percent contained: 35%
Costs to Date: $2,117,646 (not updated)
Middle Fork Fire grew 200 acres. Lonesome - no growth, Bessie Rock - no growth.
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Situation as of 08/27/2008 4:30 PM
Personnel: 120
Size: 551 acres
Percent contained: 80%
Costs to Date: $2,117,646
28 acre increase to the ESE. Still holding on Middlefork trail.
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Situation as of 08/25/2008 3:30 PM
Personnel: 208
Size: 512 acres
Percent contained: 70%
Costs to Date: $1,840,958
Minimal fire behavior, creeping and smoldering was observed.
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Situation as of 08/24/2008 3:00 PM
Personnel: 338
Size: 502 acres (no explanation for acreage reduction)
Percent contained: not reported
Long term assessment team assessing Middlefork fire to develop Long Term Plan.
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Situation as of 08/22/2008
No update. This fire is being managed by a local Type 3 team, yet it has more than 100 personnel and therefore requires a Type 2 IMT. Lack of updates is one indication that the job has overwhelmed the local group. Fire is in important and high value area, and has potential for spread. Inadequate attack and fire management at early stages could lead to extreme catastrophe and disaster later. This is no place to play with fire.
Please call Rogue River-Siskiyou NF Forest Supervisor Scott Conroy, phone number: (541) 618-2200, and let him know that mis-management of this fire, should it blow up, could result in legal actions against him personally.
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Situation as of 08/21/2008 2:45 PM
Personnel: 294
Size: 660 acres
Percent contained: 10%
Bessie Fire 60% lined. Minimal fire activity due to recent precip.
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Situation as of 08/20/2008 10:30 PM
Personnel: 294
Size: 660 acres
Percent contained: 5%
This complex is comprised of the Lonesome, Bessie, Gopher, Lily, and Incident 246 Fires.
Reported comment: “Will get eyes on the fire tomorrow.” This means the personnel have not arrived at the the fire. At last report a local team from the Rogue River-Siskiyou NF was in charge of this fire, but they are not qualified or capable. It is critical that a regional Type 2 or Type 1 IMT be assigned to this fire or extreme resource damage will ensue.
Responsible official: Rogue River-Siskiyou NF Forest Supervisor Scott Conroy
Phone Number: (541) 618-2200
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Situation as of 08/19/2008 8:30 PM
Personnel: 43
Size: 500 acres
Percent contained: 0%
Major cultural resource area. Historic use of beargrass, huckleberries by numerous tribes. Lonesome Fire north of Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness. Middlefork Fire on west edge of Sky Lakes Wilderness.
by Bob Z.
Mike:
How big is this fire now?
It may result in having the unintended consequence of restoring some huckleberry fields, beargrass meadows, and landscape vistas, but at far too great a price. These results could have been accomplished far cheaper and much better if planned and completed on purpose, rather than by wasteful accident.
The dead trees, polluted air, killed wildlife and wasted $millions are unacceptable. Unfortunately, most of the informants and voters in the Prospect area at this time are well-paid firefighters and firewatchers. Their vote should always — and understandably — be to continue these destructive events. Their families and incomes depend upon them.
But how to we get the general public to understand what a waste of resources these predictable and preventable events have become? Isn’t that an underlying theme of your posts and this website?
Finally, landscape-scale wildfires expose large numbers of artifacts to firefighters and other visitors. The Middle Fork area was once used by thousands of people for thousands of years. Some of these artifacts will be damaged by heat and smoke. How do we protect the rest? Shouldn’t part of the USFS wildfire budget be dedicated to that purpose?
On 9/18 I reposted the Lonesome/Middlefork fire on the lead page at WISE Fire Tracking [here].
Sorry for the confusion. My goal was to put it on top because the fire was blowing up. This posting began a month ago, and the rapid fire growth was more recent. Hence I thought a reposting would make it more visible to viewers. I also reposted some other fires for the same reason.
As of last night the Middlefork Fire was 17,000+ acres, if you can believe the 209 report. The data collection effort on the part of fire managers is weak, as has been demonstrated in fire after fire this year. Although the acreage is often given down to the exact acre, they really don’t know with any degree of accuracy. It may be months after a fire before an accurate assessment is made, and maybe not even then.
This fire has repeatedly plumed, forming huge fire vortexes and causing total mortality of all green plants. The soil is baked in plume events, and can even be sucked into the vortex cloud. As a result, the soil disappears or is glazed over. Subsequent rain/snow melt does not percolate through that glazed layer but runs off with sheet erosion.
Such fires render the site sterilized and productivity drops to nearly nothing. Little but wind-borne weed seeds sprout afterward. Those are often exotic invasive species.
I know of no case where huckleberry or beargrass fields have been revitalized by such fires.
The principal artifacts were the old trees. The human use over millennia (and frequent, regular, seasonal anthropogenic fires) engendered forest development pathways that favored long-lived trees. The catastrophic incineration of those trees destroys those artifacts and alters the development pathways so that old trees will never occupy the site again.
The USFS wildfire budget is long used up. It was solely dedicated to destroying forests. There is no funding for any purpose other than incineration.
The public is largely clueless. I am doing my best to inform my fellow citizens, but I am open to implementing any strategy that might do a better job than this one.
Update 09/18/2008 6:00 PM
Based on Google Fire mapping (MODIS satellite) the Middlefork Fire has reached the SW corner of Crater Lake National Park. The fire has more than doubled today. It measures ~8 miles by ~5 miles, equaling 40 sq miles or 25,000 acres.