East Evans Creek Fire Reaches 95% Containment as Transition to Local ODF Team Approaches
Firefighters continued making strong progress Wednesday as mop up, suppression repair, and rehabilitation efforts moved closer to completion across the East Evans Creek Fire.
The fire remains at 15,580 acres and is now 95% contained. Crews completed backhauling operations Tuesday, removing hose, equipment, and other firefighting resources from the fireline. Firefighters are now focused on completing suppression repair, restoring impacted areas, and continuing mop up in locations where isolated heat remains.
Infrared reconnaissance and routine monitoring continue to identify occasional hotspots within the fire perimeter. On Tuesday, a helicopter completed a bucket drop to cool a small area of residual heat along the north side of the fire. While firefighters continue extinguishing remaining hotspots, light interior smoke will remain visible at times as heavier fuels continue to smolder well within the established containment lines. Smoke visible from surrounding communities does not necessarily indicate new fire growth, and crews continue to monitor the fire closely each day.
On Saturday, the Florida Complex Incident Management Team 1 will complete its deployment and transition management of the East Evans Creek Fire to a local Oregon Department of Forestry Type 3 Incident Management Team. The Florida Complex Incident Management Team 1 is sincerely grateful to the community for its patience, support, and cooperation throughout the incident. The local ODF team will continue overseeing mop up, ongoing monitoring, suppression repair, and rehabilitation efforts until the fire is fully secured.
This will be the final scheduled update on the East Evans Creek Fire unless conditions change significantly.