Knoll Fire

08/17/2021

This is the last update for the Knoll Fire, today, August 16, 2021. The Northwest Incident Management Team 3 transferred command of the fire back to the local unit. The fire remains in monitor and patrol status. For further questions, contact the McKenzie River Ranger District, 541-822-3381.

08/16/2021

https://www.facebook.com/MiddleForkComplex/posts/155759916631265

This afternoon, a smoke plume from the Gales Fire is visible from Eugene and the surrounding areas. The fire crossed Forest Road 18 and is moving northeast in the area of the Tiller Creek drainage, north of Fall Creek Trailhead, below Forest Road 1832. The photo below is looking directly north from High Prairie Road near Dead Mountain.

08/16/2021

Middle Fork Complex & Knoll Fire Update – Monday, August 16, 2021

Kwis Fire: Yesterday’s fire activity was limited and occurred within the perimeter. Firefighters are continuing to grid and mop up to secure containment lines constructed around the fire. This process includes systematically searching for hot spots by extinguishing or removing any burning material near the fire line. Heavy equipment will continue establishing alternate lines further away from the fire’s edge.

Knoll Fire: The Knoll Fire has remained within its existing footprint and will be managed by the Willamette National Forest effective today.

Gales and Ninemile Fires: Yesterday, smoke cleared enough to allow helicopters to fly, they dropped water to slow fire growth around the Platt Creek area on the northeast corner of Ninemile Fire while firefighters worked to prepare containment line along Forest Road 1832.
Helicopters also dropped water to aid burnout operations on the Gales Fire. Preparation of Forest Road 1824 is complete. To make the road more effective as a containment line, firefighters are adding depth to the line by strategically burning to consume vegetation between the road and the fire.
Preparation of containment lines along Forest Road 18 and other key road systems will continue today. Crews will continue burnout operations west of the Gales Fire as conditions allow. Additional heavy equipment and other specialized resources are being assigned to the Gales and Ninemile fires.

Structure Protection: One Oregon State Fire Marshal (OSFM) Task Force will be working the Gales Fire today, rechecking assessed structures in the Level 3 Evacuation Zone and patrolling the perimeter of the fire. Crews will also patrol the Kwis Fire and be available to wildland partners where needs arise. Fire protection is scheduled to transition back to the local district on Tuesday, August 17, 2021. OSFM task forces will complete their shift prior to returning to their home agencies, their families and their communities.

Evacuations: Level 1, 2 and 3 evacuation notices have been issued by Lane County. For current evacuation information and an interactive map of evacuation areas, visit: www.lanecounty.org. Linn County has also issued a Level 1 evacuation notice for the Knoll Fire; more information is available at: https://buff.ly/3CutPQR.

Closures: Some National Forest System lands near the Middle Fork Complex and Knoll Fires are temporarily closed to provide for public safety. For more information, visit www.fs.usda.gov/willamette. Oregon State Marine Board issued a temporary closure on a portion of the McKenzie River, for more information: https://www.flashalert.net/id/OSMB.

ADDITIONAL FIRE INFORMATION:
Fire Information: (541) 625-0849 Facebook:
Inciweb: Middle Fork Complex: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7745/ Knoll Fire: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7790/

08/16/2021

Smoke Outlook Report for 8/16 - 8/17

Today good ventilation and increasing west winds will support
continued clearing of smoke. West of the Cascades air quality
will improve early in the day. Forecast areas to the east will lag
behind as smoke pushes from the southern Willamette Valley
over the Cascades. Eugene is expected to have Good air
quality moving into the middle part of the week. Hazy skies will
be observed from Springfield along the McKenzie River
Highway and from Lowell to Oakridge along highway 58, but
clearing in the afternoon. Lowell, McKenzie Bridge, Oakridge,
and surrounding communities will see drastically improved air
quality conditions and clean air is expected to persist for the
next several days. Smoky conditions from La Pine to Bend will
be present into the early afternoon but gradual improvement
is expected throughout the evening and into Tuesday.

08/15/2021

Join us for a virtual community briefing tomorrow night, Monday, August 16, beginning at 6:30 pm. You may submit questions in advance by emailing them in advance to [email protected], or within the comment section of the livestream.

If you know people who are not on Facebook and would like to watch, please note that you can still access this page and live stream without an account. Simply click "not now" or "cancel" when Facebook asks for a log in. The direct link to the live stream is: https://fb.me/e/MD2dtsVN

08/15/2021

Approx. Fire Size (acres):
Gales and Elephant Rock: 7,160
Knoll: 544
Kwis: 1,482
Ninemile: 488

Middle Fork Complex & Knoll Fire Update – Sunday, August 15, 2021 – 9:00 am

Kwis Fire: Sprinkler systems were installed to strengthen containment lines on elevated terrain and in areas not adjacent to road systems. Today will be a continuation of mop up and patrols with heavy equipment working on alternate containment lines. As operations are completed, resources are re-positioned to where they will be most effectively utilized on the complex. Some will be shifted to other locations associated with the Kwis Fire, and others will be re-located to aid in suppression efforts on the Gales or Ninemile Fires.

Kwis Fire Structure Protection: Structural triage has been completed in Oakridge, Oakridge area Level 2 Evacuation Zone and the Level 3 Evacuation Zone west of the Gales Fire. Firefighter Risk Assessment Placards were posted, increasing fire suppression safety for homeowners. The information assessed by Task Forces has been gathered and will be shared with your local fire response agencies, giving them critical response information should fire risk increase. This gives Lowell and Oakridge Fires a head start if the need arises to engage in structure protection.

The Oregon State Fire Marshal’s (OSFM) Incident Management Team is evaluating fire needs and is in discussions with local fire officials to determine transition. Crews are expected to be demobilized to their home districts. If needed, crews can be re-activated to the complex. OSFM crews are activated through the state mobilization plan and the Lane County Fire Defense Board Chief. Additional evaluation of demobilization will likely occur over the next 48 hours. Considerations used are weather, risk to life and property, perimeter holds, contingency lines, and completion of mission tasks.

Knoll Fire: Firefighters have been successful holding the Knoll fire within containment lines for the last several days. Mop up and patrol for spot fires are ongoing. Smoke will remain visible as unburned vegetation within the containment line is consumed. Management of this fire will be transferred back to the Willamette National Forest on Monday.

Gales and Ninemile Fires: Heavy equipment and other specialized resources are arriving to the Gales and Ninemile fires. Preparation of containment lines along Forest Road 18 and other roads is ongoing. Strategic burning operations, utilizing both hand and aerial ignition to reduce available fuel between containment lines and the active fire will take place in the future when burning conditions are right for successful implementation. Aerial ignition operation will include the use of a plastic sphere dispenser (PSD). The device delivers spheres containing potassium permanganate that are injected with ethylene glycol (antifreeze) before being discharged. A chemical reaction between the potassium permanganate and ethylene glycol causes the sphere to ignite approximately 20 to 30 seconds after injection. A short video demonstrating the use of PSD devices is available at www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iPNOw-oQgo.

Weather and Smoke: Mostly sunny with smoke. Better clearing of smoke by late afternoon. Sunday will be warm again, with similar or slightly lower daytime humidity compared to Saturday. For current air quality information, visit oakridgeair.org/smoke or the Oregon Smoke Blog oregonsmoke.blogspot.com/.

Evacuations: Level 1, 2 and 3 evacuation notices are in place in Lane County. Current evacuation information and an interactive map of evacuation areas are available at www.lanecounty.org. Linn County has also issued a Level 1 evacuation notice for the Knoll Fire, more information is available at: https://buff.ly/3CutPQR.

Closures: Some National Forest System lands near the Middle Fork Complex and Knoll fires are temporarily closed to provide for public safety. For more information visit www.fs.usda.gov/willamette. The Oregon State Marine Board issued a temporary closure on a portion of the McKenzie River, for more information visit: https://www.flashalert.net/id/OSMB.

ADDITIONAL FIRE INFORMATION:
Fire Information: (541) 625-0849 Facebook:
Inciweb: Middle Fork Complex: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7745/ Knoll Fire: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7790/

08/15/2021

Smoke Outlook Report for 8/15 – 8/16

Eugene and Springfield should see Good air quality today with a few periods of Moderate in the early afternoon. Lowell and McKenzie Bridge can expect Moderate conditions this morning becoming USG to Unhealthy. By mid-afternoon smoke will start to clear out and air quality will become Moderate to Good by the evening hours. Oakridge will still see more localized impacts with its proximity to the Kwis fire. This morning anticipates increasing smoke and Unhealthy to Very Unhealthy air quality. By the afternoon Oakridge will see good ventilation and clearing of smoke should intensify. LaPine and Bend communities can expect to see smoky skies into the evening hours but clearing overnight.

Issued by USFS Wildland Fire Air Quality Response Program -- www.wildlandfiresmoke.net
Lane Deschutes Current Outlook -- tools.airfire.org/outlooks/LaneDeschutes
*Smoke and Health Info -- www.airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=smoke.in

08/15/2021

Morning operational update for August 15 with PNW 3 Deputy Incident Commander, Dan Quinones and OSFM Deputy Incident Commander trainee, Steve Bergman.

08/15/2021

August 15, 2021 - Knoll Fire Size: 544 Acres

The map below was created based on infrared (IR) data collected during a flight over the fire area last night.

08/15/2021

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Air Now app has been updated to integrate the Fire and Smoke Map (https://fire.airnow.gov/)!

This is one of the best resources to track wildfire smoke and it's impact on air quality. Plenty of great information easily accessible on your smart phone.

Download it from the Apple App Store here: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/epa-airnow/id467653238

Download it from Google Play here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.saic.airnow

08/15/2021

Wildland firefighting operations utilize infrared (IR) technology for developing fire perimeter maps and understanding where there may be areas of intense or scattered heat within the fire (as shown in the map below). The fire perimeter displayed on this map is the same information shown on the Information map shared daily on this page. The information is typically updated once a day after there is a nighttime IR flight over the fire area. For those that use Google Earth, IR information is available at: https://bit.ly/3yPv0I7

08/14/2021

Middle Fork Complex & Knoll Fire Update – Saturday, August 14, 2021 – 9:00 am

Smoke yesterday moderated fire activity despite the hot and dry weather.

Kwis Fire: Strategic burning operations were conducted along the containment line from Forest Road 207 to Forest Road 5871. Today, crews will continue installing a sprinkler system and water tenders will assist in wetting areas where crews conducted strategic burning. Mop up and patrols along completed line are ongoing and heavy equipment is working on constructing alternative containment lines. Firefighters will continue night work and patrols on the Kwis fire as well.

Kwis Fire Structure Protection: Structure crews from OSFM continued supporting fire operations on the Kwis and the Gale fires. Firefighters provided structure triage and defensible space for structures and homes on private land east of the Gale Fire in the Level 3 Evacuation Zone. Structure crews have also completed over 471 home assessments in Oakridge and the Level 2 Evacuation Zone and are working to complete all assessments in these areas today.

Knoll Fire: Containment on the Knoll fire has increased with expectations for containment percentages to keep increasing. The fire continues to remain within its existing footprint. Firefighters have successfully held the fire west of Highway 126 and mop up work is ongoing. There may be increased smoke as unburned islands of forest within the fire perimeter are naturally consumed.

Gales and Ninemile Fires: With the successes on Kwis and Knoll Fires, more heavy equipment and other resources are being routed to Gales and Ninemile. Firefighters are resuming the previous efforts to construct the indirect containment lines. The equipment will also be utilized to prepare the Forest Road 18, which will be used to move equipment and other resources to both fires. Strategic burning operations will be implemented as conditions allow.

Weather and Smoke: Some instability will linger Saturday, such that a slight potential for deep vertical plume growth will remain, however the threat will be reduced compared to Friday. Morning humidity recoveries are expected, with daytime drying similar to previous days. For current air quality information, visit oakridgeair.org/smoke or the Oregon Smoke Blog oregonsmoke.blogspot.com/.

Evacuations: Level 1, 2 and 3 evacuation notices have been issued by Lane County. For current evacuation information and an interactive map of evacuation areas, visit: www.lanecounty.org.

Closures: Some National Forest System lands near the Middle Fork Complex and Knoll fires are temporarily closed to provide for public safety. For more information visit www.fs.usda.gov/willamette. The Oregon State Marine Board issued a temporary closure on a portion of the McKenzie River, for more information visit: https://www.flashalert.net/id/OSMB.

ADDITIONAL FIRE INFORMATION:

Fire Information: (541) 625-0849 Facebook:

Inciweb: Middle Fork Complex: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7745/ Knoll Fire: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7790/

Fire Acreage:

Approx. Fire Size (acres):

Gales and Elephant Rock: 6,876

Knoll: 544

Kwis: 1,482

Ninemile: 488