Single Publication

An Anvil Fire specific Inciweb page has been set up. It can be accessed at bit.ly/AnvilFireOR 

Flat Fire Activity

Size: 34,242 acres             Start Date:  July 15, 2023                Point of origin: 2 miles southeast of Agness, OR

Containment: 58%           Total personnel: 416

Resources: 5 crews, 6 helicopters, 14 engines, 9 water tenders, 12 pieces of heavy equipment

Crews continue to identify and backhaul equipment around the fire perimeter, including sprinkler systems, hoses, pumps, and water tanks. Hand crews and excavator operators are pulling in berms on alternate heavy equipment lines and adding water bars to prevent erosion. Chipping activity continues on the southern end along Forest Road 109. Once that is complete, the chipper will be used in other areas around the fire. Firefighters are patrolling and monitoring around the fire, keeping a close watch on the uncontained line on the eastern perimeter. Smoke may be visible within the firelines as interior fuel pockets burn out. Initial Attack resources are staged and ready to assist the Forest if needed.

Anvil Fire Activity

Size: 135 acres                   Start Date:  August 25, 2023          Point of origin: 8 miles east of Port Orford, OR                        

Containment: 0%  Total personnel: 119

Resources: 4 crews, 1 helicopter, 4 engines, 3 water tenders, 1 piece of heavy equipment

The Anvil Fire strategy is to keep the footprint as small as possible. However, due to the steep slopes, rugged terrain, and snags (dead standing trees) creating safety issues, fire managers are assessing options for fighting the fire. Options include indirect (creating line a distance from the fire’s edge with a higher probability of success and lower risk to firefighters) and direct attack (building line at the fire’s edge), and point protection. If weather allows, a reconnaissance flight will be conducted today to identify ridgelines that could be used for alternative control lines. Crews are beginning to assess along the Elk River and Sixes River roads to identify structures and determine point protection needs. This could include removing vegetation and flammable materials from around houses and other structures and setting up sprinkler systems with hoses and pumps. Property owners can expect to begin seeing firefighters in these areas. Aircraft will continue to support firefighters as conditions allow.

Weather: Some moisture fell on both fires yesterday. The weather will remain cool with higher humidity for a few more days. However, temperatures will slowly rise next week, and humidity will drop, potentially resulting in increased fire behavior.

Smoke: The smoke outlook for the Smith River Complex and surrounding fires, including the Flat Fire, can be found at https://tinyurl.com/smokeoutlook. Precipitation and cooler temperatures should suppress smoke generation and improve air quality through Saturday afternoon. Sunday, southwest winds will bring smoke back into the forecast area.

Closures:  U.S. Highway 199 is closed north of Gasquet due to fires on the Six Rivers National Forest. Please use U.S. Route 101 to SR 42 for all travel to and from the Rogue Valley. Forest Service and BLM roads should not be used as alternate routes due to emerging fire activity. The Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest (RRSNF) has issued a closure order. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/RRSNFAlerts.

Evacuations: Level 1 “Get Ready” evacuation status is in place for areas near the Flat Fire. Level 2 “Get Set“ evacuation status is in place along the Elk River from about milepost 4 to the USFS Butler Bar Campground near the Anvil Fire. Visit https://bit.ly/CurryCoEM for more information and to sign up for alerts.

Restrictions: There are currently Level 3 Public Use Restrictions (PUR) in the area. Visit https://bit.ly/RRSNFAlerts for more information. There is a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) over the fire areas. Please do not fly unmanned aircraft (drones) in the fire vicinity. If you fly, we can't.