East Fork & Center Creek Trail Fire Update
September 14, 2020
East Fork Fire: Warmer temperatures have reawakened the fire, leading to increased fire behavior and smoke yesterday. The fire burned actively in the Bear Wallow and Brown Duck Creek areas. Crews successfully burned west of Moon Lake Road and north of Bear Hollow Road, which will hold fire progression to the southeast.
Center Creek Trail Fire: The Center Creek Trail Fire is showing limited fire behavior and currently poses no threat of moving south toward the wilderness boundary.
Closures: Closures are in effect for the Ashley National Forest and on Uintah and Ouray Tribal Lands. Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office has closed county roads in and near the fire area.
All closures are posted at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/closures/7052/.
Closure Map: https://go.usa.gov/xG8PW
Community Meeting: A virtual community meeting will be held Tuesday, September 15, 2020 at 7 p.m. Two options will be available for viewing: The Ashley National Forest Facebook page will live-stream the event, and a Zoom link will be provided in tomorrow’s update.
Today’s Operations: Assuming favorable conditions, burning operations on the south fire perimeter may begin west of Bear Hollow Road to Mountain Sheep Pass. By intentionally introducing fire, low to moderate fire behavior will help contain the fire to the Bear Wallow area. This will stop future spread by eliminating fuel sources ahead of the fire. The north/northeast fire perimeter is expected to be active again today, burning along Brown Duck Creek. Helicopter water bucket drops will work to extinguish hot spots and herd the fire toward the wilderness. Crews and dozers are digging containment lines ahead of the fire’s eastern perimeter. Crews continue to increase containment lines along Rock Creek Road near Upper Stillwater Reservoir. Team 7’s long term strategy to contain all fire outside the wilderness continues.
Weather: Today’s temperatures are expected to be about 76 degrees, about 2-4 degrees higher than yesterday, continuing an upward warming trend. Correspondingly, relative humidities are declining and fire behavior is becoming more active. Winds will be from the southwest 7-11 mph with gusts to 17 mph. Large heavy fuels continue to burn, and grass and shrubs have dried out and are receptive to fire. Today’s burning operations will produce additional smoke, visible in surrounding communities. Weather tonight will be in the high 40s.
Safety: The public is asked to respect road and area closures. Please drive with caution as firefighters are working in the area and smoke reduces visibility. Drones are hazardous to fire aviation assets and are not permitted in the fire area. Remember: If you fly, we can’t. Firefighter and public safety are the highest priority for Great Basin Team 7.
Resources: 4 Helicopters, 26 Engines, 5 water tenders, 1 Hotshot crew, 1 Type 2 Initial Attack handcrew, 2 dozers and 3 Wildland Fire Modules. Currently 284 firefighters are assigned to the East Fork Fire. The Center Creek Trail Fire has 25 firefighters assigned.
