Unified Command:

Oregon Department of Forestry Incident Management Team 2

Fremont National Forest

Information Contact:

541-943-3513

541-943-0998

Winter Fire Update

July 24, 2002

8:00 AM

Paisley Community Meeting Planned

A community meeting will be held in the Paisley School Auditorium tonight at 7PM to discuss the current situation with respect to the Winter Fire. A similar meeting will be held tomorrow night, July 25^th, at Summer Lake Lodge.

The Winter Fire was calm last night, with the exception of the north end, where fire activity temporarily closed Highway 31 again. Gains were made building fire lines last night, but meteorologists are predicting potentially extreme fire behavior today.

“Today is pivotal,” said Incident Commander Jim Mair. “If we can hold it through today’s predicted hot, dry and windy weather, then we will have turned a major corner.”

Today’s size estimate for the Winter Fire is 34,130 acres and it is estimated at 45% containment. Full containment is projected for 8/1.

The National Guard helped ease landowners’ concerns by attacking hot spots near homes along Highway 31 with more than 250 troops. Another contingent of 250 National Guard troops are expected this weekend.

The Toolbox fire, just west of the north half of the Winter Fire, exhibited extreme fire behavior last night sending heavy smoke down into the Summer Lake basin.

An Area Command Team is staged in Lakeview to prioritize resources for the fires burning in Lake County, which include the Winter, Toolbox Complex, and Grizzly Complex fires. These fires now encompass an estimated total of 115,000 acres.

The City of Paisley is posting fire information on its web page at www.paisley.presys.com.

Resources Currently Assigned To Winter Fire

Hand Crews	40
Engines	35
Helicopters	8
Dozers	16
Water Tenders	12
Total Personnel	1293

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