Umatilla N.F. fire update

PENDLETON—The lighting that occurred Sunday night has led to 11 new fires over the past 48 hours throughout Umatilla National Forest. The largest is Trout Two at seven acres, which is located 24 miles east of Ukiah on the North Fork John Day Ranger District. Firefighters have active suppression efforts happening on all the new starts, according to the U.S.F.S. as of Tuesday, September 10, 2024.

Forest personnel will continue scouting for potential new smoke reports. More smoke reports are expected throughout the next few days as more thunderstorms are expected throughout the week. Fire crews and managers will conduct active suppression on the current fires, watch for additional starts and continually assess local resource needs based on fire circumstances.

The high temperatures, dry fuel conditions and winds Monday led to aggressive fire behavior which challenged Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) Incident Management Team 2 firefighters on the Service Fire, one of the five fires in the Fossil Complex, which was at 6,974 acres yesterday but has grown to an estimated 15,000 acres overnight and started to move east closer to the Heppner Ranger District.

Thunderstorms are expected through the week with winds gusting up to 22 mph. The current fire danger rating is at HIGH and public use restrictions phase B for Umatilla National Forest are in effect.

The latest information about the Fossil Complex is available on InciWeb at https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/or95s-fossil-complex.

We ask forest visitors to use caution when traveling through or recreating on the forest and please stay aware of your situation and continue to listen for fire updates.