Klamath Fire Theater
Location: Northern California, principally Klamath NF but also portions of the Six Rivers NF and Shasta-Trinity NF
Date of Origin: 06/21/2008
Cause: Lightning
Situation as of 10/05/2008 at 4:30 PM
Personnel: 262
Size: 72,344 acres (Panther Fire only)
Percent contained: 25%
Costs to Date: not reported, est actual $160 million for the Klamath Fire Theater. Fires in the Theater include the Siskiyou Complex, Ukonom, Blue 2, Panther, and Bear Wallow Complex.
For the first time in two weeks a 209 report has been posted. The report is for the Panther Fire only, but may include portions of other fires. The USFS has been combining, dividing, and recombining fires to obfuscate fire statistics and cover up actual fire conditions.
Despite two weeks of silence, the Panther Fire continues to burn and firefighters continue to work the fire. Command of the fire has devolved to a local (Klamath NF) fire team. Continuing firefighting efforts include direct line construction out of Elk Creek, containment and mop-up on Doolittle and Cougar Creeks and direct line construction from Sulfur Springs to the E.
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Situation as of 09/25/2008 at 6:00 PM
Personnel: 276
Size: 192,038 acres
Percent contained: 90%
Costs to Date: $126,086,065 reported, est actual $155 million.
Fire now officially 3 months old. Fire size increased 1,050 acres in the last 2 days. Fire activity near the areas of Blue Granite, Burney, and Deadman Lakes, Little North Fork Creek, Chimney Rock, Harrington’s Ridge, the Dillon Divide area, and the Marble Mtns.
A transfer of command from the Boise NIMO team to the local forests will occur on Friday, September 26 at 0600 hrs. The Blue 2/Siskiyou fire will be transferred to the Six Rivers National Forest; the North Ukonom, South Ukonom, Panther, Anthony Milne, and Caribou fires will be transferred to the Klamath National Forest.
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Situation as of 09/23/2008 at 6:00 PM
Personnel: 345
Size: 190,964 acres
Percent contained: 90%
Costs to Date: not reported, est $155 million.
Fire now officially 3 months old. Fire size increased 360 acres in the last 2 days. Fire activity near Medicine Mountain and Chimney Rock, Harrington Creek and Eightmile Creek, Upper Dillon Creek, Bridge Creek, Blue Creek, Pleasant Lake, and the Marble Mountain Wilderness.
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Situation as of 09/21/2008 at 6:00 PM
Personnel: 422
Size: 190,601 acres
Percent contained: 75%
Costs to Date: $124,849,322 reported. Actual costs over $150 million.
Fire now officially 3 months old. Fire size increased 1,500 acres in the last 2 days. Fire spread near Medicine Mountain and Chimney Rock was monitored by air. The Blue 2 fire spread into Harrington Creek and Eightmile Creek. Backing, smoldering and creeping were observed in the areas of the Dillon Divide and Blue Creek (Blue 2/Siskiyou fire) as well as in the vicinity of Pleasant Lake (Panther fire) and into the Marble Mountain Wilderness (South Ukonom fire).
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Situation as of 09/19/2008 at 6:00 PM
Personnel: 411
Size: 189,173 acres
Percent contained: 75%
Costs to Date: $124,636,917 reported. Another $4 million missing. See discussion on 09/17 below.
Estimated Containment date: 09/30/2008
Fire size increased 3,000 acres in the last 2 days. Fire spread near Medicine Mountain and Chimney Rock was monitored by air. The Blue 2 fire spread into Harrington Creek and Eightmile Creek last night and early this morning.
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Situation as of 09/17/2008 at 6:00 PM
Personnel: 447
Size: 185,925 acres
Percent contained: 75%
Costs to Date: see below
Estimated Containment date: 09/30/2008
Fire size increased 2,500 acres in the last 2 days.
Crews continued to monitor the fire spread. Increase in winds coupled with extremely dry fuel conditions making for increased fire behavior. South Ukonom: Active fire behavior north of Crapo Mountain in the Devils Canyon area and on northeast perimeter. Single and group tree torching. Siskiyou/Blue 2: Actively burning in upper extents of Blue and Dillon Creeks. Fire has moved beyond Chimney Rock and threatening to cross Dillon Divide. Panther: Interior bowls are burning with intermittent short runs to ridge tops. Burning into upper end of Pleasant Lake.
Costs and size clarifications: The Bear Wallow Complex consists of the Caribou, South Ukonom and Anthony Milne fires. The Panther Fire consists of the Panther Fire and the North Ukonom fires. The Siskiyou Complex consists of the Siskiyou and Blue 2 fires. There are five cost databases associated with three incident numbers; for cost reporting purposes, the Bear Wallow Complex costs will include the Caribou, North Ukonom, South Ukonom, and Anthony Milne fires. The Panther fire costs will include only the Panther fire, and the Siskiyou Complex costs will include the Siskiyou and Blue 2 fires. The Panther Fire is currently 50,905 acres with a cost to date of $41,724,876. The Bear Wallow Complex is currently 49,869 acres with a cost to date of $16,311,770. The Siskiyou Complex is currently 85,151 acres with a cost to date of $70,428,649. Cost to date by individual fires: Ukonom - $25,740,777; Siskiyou - $44,696,871; Blue 2 - $20,731,778; Panther - $15,984,099; Bear Wallow - $16,311,770. The change in cost to date is a result of cleaning up multiple databases.
[If you read through that carefully with a calculator in hand, you will realize that it is self-contradictory and that the numbers do not add up. The costs to date for the individual fires are too low by many $millions. It calls into question the entire accounting. Four days ago total costs were given as $150,804,771. That accounting was understated by $23 - $25 million based on our tracking. Tens of millions of dollars are missing from today's figures. - Ed]
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Situation as of 09/15/2008 at 6:00 PM
Personnel: 575
Size: 183,453 acres
Percent contained: 75%
Costs to Date: not updated, est. $176 million
Estimated Containment date: 09/30/2008
Fire size increased 2,000 acres in the last 2 days.
On the South Ukonom fire, fire activity increased this afternoon with moderate intensity understory burning in timber with occasional individual tree or group torching. Extremely dry fuel conditions persist. On the Panther Fire, bowls in the high country continue to exhibit interior growth. On the Siskiyou/Blue 2 fire, increased activity was observed in the Elk Valley and Blue Creek drainage areas.
Local Red Flag Warning conditions predicted for 9/16/08: for unstable air conditions, high temperatures, low humidity, and isolated dry lightning in the area.
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Situation as of 09/13/2008 at 6:00 PM
Personnel: 643
Size: 181,514 acres
Percent contained: 75%
Costs to Date: $150,804,771 (the largest suppression cost ever reported in history)
Estimated Containment date: 09/30/2008
The Klamath Theater consists of the Bear Wallow Complex (CA-KNF-3393) [here], the Panther Fire (CA-KNF-003624) [here], and the Siskiyou/Blue 2 Complex (CA-KNF-002975) [here]. The Bear Wallow Complex consists of the Caribou, South Ukonom [here] and Anthony Milne fires. The Panther Fire consists of the Panther Fire and the North Ukonom fires [here]. The Siskiyou/Blue 2 Complex consists of the Siskiyou and Blue 2 fires. Branches were redefined to reflect the additional fires as well as for organizational efficiency. The Panther Fire is currently 49,537 acres with a cost to date of $15,802,871. The Bear Wallow Complex is currently 49,361 acres with a cost to date of $14,804,959. The Siskiyou/Blue 2 Complex is currently 82,616 acres with a cost to date of $120,196,941. All resources for the entire theater are being reported under this ICS 209.
[Correction: the costs reported above DO NOT include the costs of the Ukonom Fire prior to incorporation into the Panther and Bear Wallow Fires. And additional $23 million (at least) was spent on the Ukonom Fire.- Ed]
Injuries and fatalities reflect all complexes. There have been 3 fatalities, most recently Sept. 11 from a dozer accident that occurred Sept 6.
Crews continued to monitor the fire spread, patrol and mop as necessary. Due to firefighter safety and sensitive resource concerns, all ground resources were removed from the Elk Valley area on the Siskiyou/Blue 2 Branch where the most recent fatality occurred.
Crews continued to construct handline on the South Ukonom Fire from the Little North Fork of the Salmon River northeast toward the wilderness boundary in preparation for burning out. Crews completed handline on the ridgeline between Sur and Cherry Creeks, completed firing operations to the Little North Fork Creek of the Salmon River, and continued to hold and mop up.
A low intensity fire with some isolated torching was observed on the Panther and South Ukonom fires. The Bear Wallow Complex fire behavior has remained fairly constant the last three days, experiencing moderate intensity fire with group torching.
