Green Ridge Fire nearly 2,000 acres

High daytime temperatures and afternoon winds yesterday pushed the fire across containment lines on the eastern edge of the Green Ridge Fire.

Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch reports that on one spot, the fire crossed the FS 11 Road; firefighters quickly caught that edge with a dozer line. The fire continued to back down the west side of Green Ridge and rolling material on the northwest edge of the fire caused a small area of slop-over overnight.

The fire is currently mapped at 1,937 acres.

Today, firefighters will continue to use dozers to create containment lines on the eastern 2/3 of the fireline, while crews hold and improve the line through the heat of the day. Where the fire continues to back down the steep slopes of Green Ridge, firefighters will dig handline to stop the fire’s progress. The heavy and medium helicopters will continue to support the ground effort with bucket drops, and heavy airtankers will be available if the fire is pushed outside of containment lines again today.

A cooling trend today and tomorrow with lower temperatures and higher relative humidity should assist suppression operations; however, firefighters will still have to address typical Central Oregon afternoon winds. Fuel conditions remain extremely dry and contribute to fire spread. Crews will continue to grid outside the fireline to catch any spot fires that may occur.

The fire is staffed with almost 300 personnel including two interagency hotshot crews, two Type 2 initial attack crews, five 20-person handcrews, five Type 4 Engines, three Type 6 Engines, 11 dozers, two feller-bunchers, eight water tenders, two skidgeons, three masticators and approximately 60 overhead positions.

The Deschutes and Jefferson County Sheriffs’ offices issued a Level 2 (Get Set; prepare to leave at a moment’s notice) Evacuation notice for the following areas: residences north of Indian Ford Road; east of Green Ridge Rd 11 and west of Fly Lake Road (USFS 2055), and a Level 1 (Get Set) Pre-Evacuation notice for the following areas: residences along the south side of Indian Ford Road from Hwy 20 to Stevens Canyon Road; residences east of Fly Lake Rd (FS 2055) to Stevens Canyon Rd (including all residences along Stevens Canyon Rd); and private residences and campgrounds west of USFS 14 within the Metolius Basin in the Camp Sherman area.

The departments will continue to work with fire managers to ensure public safety and prevent conflicts between citizens and fire operations.

The Deschutes National Forest also issued a fire closure order yesterday to minimize public entry into the fire area as well as reduce the amount of traffic on roads with increased fire vehicles. The closure extends from the east side of the FS 14 Road on the western edge, to the FS 1154 Road to the north, east of the FS 1129 Road on the eastern edge of the fire and the FS 1126 Road on the south. A complete description of the closure and a map can be found under the Announcement tab on the Green Ridge Fire page in Inciweb at: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7012/.