Press release from the Six Rivers National Forest: Current fires and fire complexes on the Six Rivers National Forest include the Orleans Complex, consisting of three active fires, and the Young Fire. The western side of the Oak Fire—part of the Klamath National Forest’s Eclipse Complex—is on the Six Rivers National Forest. Firefighter and public safety is the priority.

Orleans Complex—Six Rivers National Forest (https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5430/): Three of the nineteen fires comprising the complex remain active: Ukonom (4,176 acres, 52 percent contained); Haypress (5,387 acres, 0 percent contained); and Burney (1,360 acres, 0 percent contained).Fire activity increased on both the Ukonom and Haypress Fires late yesterday afternoon as the persistent heavy smoke inversion finally lifted.

When the smoke inversion lifted and the air cleared yesterday, the Haypress Fire became active and advanced further north into the Marble Mountain Wilderness. The northeast corner of the fire spread in a narrow finger up Haypress Creek, across Halfmoon Creek, and toward Round Meadow, making short runs and spotting ahead of the main fire. On the southwest side of the fire, favorable weather conditions presented crews with an opportunity to successfully conduct a low-intensity firing operation along Forest Road (FR) 12N48 south toward FR 12N02. They will continue that operation into this morning for as long as weather conditions permit. The goal is to connect the fireline to FR 12N26 and to contain the western side of the fire along FR 15N17.

The Ukonom Fire grew just slightly yesterday on the southeast corner but remains west of Lick and Ukonom Creeks. Last night’s infrared flight revealed areas of heat within the fire perimeter only in the southeast corner. Some previously unburned interior islands of vegetation ignited yesterday afternoon. Burning vegetation within the perimeter is expected to continue, producing smoke that could be visible to nearby residents. This interior burning does not pose a threat to containment lines.

Eclipse Complex—Young and Oak Fires—Klamath and Six Rivers National Forests: (https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5511/): The Young Fire is now part of the Eclipse Complex, which is being managed by California Interagency Incident Management Team 1. The fire—entirely within the Siskiyou Wilderness on the Six Rivers and Klamath National Forests—is burning in steep, rugged terrain that poses great risk to firefighers. Fire managers monitoring it report that it has been minimally active in recent days and is unlikely to grow significantly under current weather and terrain conditions. The objective is to keep the fire north of Doe Creek.

A 3,323-acre portion of the 50,734-acre Oak Fire is on the Six Rivers National Forest south of Jedidiah Mountain and east of the South Fork of the Smith River in the Siskiyou Wilderness. The fire is established in the river drainage in places but has not spotted across the river, which is also the wilderness boundary in that area. Forest closures are in effect but no evacuations have been issued. Fire Management Officer Mike Minton is reasonably confident that the fire will not cross the river but stresses the importance of planning and preparing for that possibility. Some of the preparation involves hand crews and heavy equipment constructing indirect, or contingency, fireline along Blue Ridge, west of the South Fork. They are currently clearing sections of FR 16N02 and 16N03, which will serve as the fireline to keep the fire east of Blue Ridge

Closures—Orleans Complex: Two closure orders are in effect for national forest roads, trails, and lands in the vicinity of Orleans Complex fires (http://bit.ly/2xoqGQW). For the Haypress Fire, Closure Order No. 17-05-801 is in effect on the Ukonom Ranger District. For the Ukonom Fire, Closure Order No. 17-05-797 is in effect on the Ukonom and Happy Camp Ranger Districts.

Closures—Young and Oak Fires: Closure Order No. 10-17-09 (http://bit.ly/2wgo73d) closes national forest trails, roads, and lands around the Young Fire and the western side of the Oak Fire (formerly Prescott Fire). Closure Order No. 10-17-07 (http://bit.ly/2vAKQVP) closes two trails near the Young Fire: Doe Flat (Trail No. 4E04) and Young’s Valley (Trail. No. 5E02). Both closure orders remain in effect until the fires are suppressed and declared out.

Safety:

Motorists should use caution in areas with increased traffic due to fire-suppression activities.

Temporary flight restrictions (TFRs are in effect over the Orleans Complex and the Young Fire. Planes and drones not associated with fire operations are not allowed within the TFR. For a complete list of TFRs, go to http://tfr.faa.gov/tfr2/list.html.

Fire-use restrictions are in effect on the Six Rivers National Forest (http://bit.ly/2wfQ7Ed).

Smoke from several active fires on the Klamath, Rogue River-Siskiyou, and the Six Rivers National Forests will continue to affect the region. For up-to-date air quality advisories, call 866-BURN-DAY (1-866-287-6329) or go to www.ncuaqmd.org.

Prevention: The risk of starting a wildfire always exists. Remember: “One less spark, one less wildfire.” http://preventwildfireca.org/OneLessSpark/.