Unified Command:

Oregon Department of Forestry Incident Management Team 2

Fremont National Forest

Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office

Information Contact:

541-943-3513

Winter Fire Update

July 17, 2002

9:00 AM

The Winter Fire continued to grow to the north and the south on Tuesday, and is now 24,000 acres in size. The fire challenged several homes yesterday afternoon and evening, but so far every home in the fire’s path has been saved as firefighters, homeowners, and neighbors work together. Approximately 60 homes are threatened by the fire.

A large National Guard Chinook helicopter has arrived to help in the suppression effort, dropping water on the fire in critical locations. A medium-sized helicopter was also ferrying water to the fire front. In addition, large and small air tankers worked at “painting” wide red lines of retardant around threatened houses as part of a strategy to slow or stop the fire as it approaches the residences. The retardant retains its effectiveness for several days, so it can be applied before the sky becomes too smoky for air action as the fire approaches.

Highway 31 was closed from Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday morning. Homeowners who had been without electricity since Monday afternoon because of the fire were pleased to have their electricity restored early Tuesday evening.

There are 516 firefighters assigned to the Winter Fire, and there have been no injuries.

The firefighting activities are being managed by a unified team consisting of representatives from the Fremont National Forest, Oregon Department of Forestry’s Incident Management Team 2, and Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Red Fire Team.

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