With the Green Ridge Fire showing little sign of activity, the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Incident Management Team is preparing to hand the fire back to local resources.
Incident Commander Link Smith and his team will transfer the fire to a Type 4 organization on Wednesday.
The 4,338-acre fire burning near Camp Sherman is now 75% contained.
Of concern to firefighter safety, crews observed a private drone flying over the fire area Sunday afternoon, Smith said.
While fire activity has diminished, aircraft is still being used to support ground operations. Even a tiny drone can cause a serious or fatal accident if it collides with firefighting aircraft.
In most situations, if drones are spotted near a wildfire, firefighting aircraft must land due to safety concerns, Smith said.
Fire crews will be blessed with favorable weather for today’s mop-up operations. Low clouds with a possibility of sprinkles will hover over the fire area this morning. Clouds will slowly dissipate this afternoon with temperatures in the high 70’s.
The Deschutes National Forest Area Closure remains in place while FS Road 14 and associated campgrounds remain open. Visit inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7012/ for additional fire and Forest Area Closures information.
The Frog Fire burning near Prineville is now 90% contained
The fire is now 90% contained and crews will work this week to achieve full containment.
While the fire perimeter is cold to the touch, the interior fire area still has pockets of heat.
This fire will likely smoke and smolder until winter snow and cold temperatures completely extinguish it. Please do not report this fire to dispatch or emergency services. Firefighters will continually monitor it until it is declared “controlled” or dead out.
An area closure is put in place for all U.S. Forest Service managed lands west of Forest Road 16 in the Maury Mountains. This closure is being implemented for the safety of the public and firefighters working in the area. To view the closure order and map, visit: https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/ochoco/alerts-notices
