Single Publication

River Complex Fire Update
Sunday, August 29, 2021

Fire Statistics: Total complex 98,832 acres, 23% containment.  Haypress 66,666 acres.  Summer 26,217 acres. Cronan 5,912 acres.

Etna, CA — Another day of warm and dry conditions brought increased fire behavior across the River Complex, but cooler temperatures at night moderated fire activity. 

Activity on the Summer fire was along the western border, as the fire progressed from Saint Clair Creek to French Creek. Crews continued to secure the north perimeter of the Haypress and hold the east fork of the Salmon River as the main fire progresses down from Fish Lake to their back burn operations. Fire activity has increased along the east flank of the Haypress, specifically north of the Three Sisters Gulch area along Upper Coffee Creek Road.  Crews on the Cronan fire continue to hold and secure the control lines. 

On July 30, 2021, 31 fires were originally discovered following a series of thunderstorms.  Only three fires remain, the Cronan, Summer, and Haypress fires. 

Incident Management Team 13 has joined National Incident Management Organization (NIMO) in control of the River Complex incident as of 0600 this morning. 

Fire Behavior:
Haypress:  Containment lines along Cecilville/Callahan Road will continue to smolder and smoke, and the fire will continue to back to the road.  Crews will be working in the Coffee Creek/Three Sisters Gulch area to keep the fire from crossing the road and running up to Sugar Pine Ridge.  The Parker spot fire will remain active and grow to the north where the fire is uncontained. 

Summer Fire:  Areas with intense heat on the west end will continue to grow, where fuel is available.  High elevation barriers such as rock systems and change of vegetation will limit fire growth. There is high potential to grow into the 2020 Red Salmon Complex fire scar.

Cronan Fire:  Unburned islands will continue to actively burn.  Crews will be working to hold the fire within containment lines, as rollout is still a threat. 

Weather:  Very dry air will bring extremely low humidity this morning across the complex.  This drier trend will combine with warmer temperatures.  Winds will remain relatively light, with the upper slopes and ridgetops experiencing higher gusts during the afternoon hours. Smoke will linger Sunday, especially along the drainages, but an approaching weather front should help to mix that out on Monday.  A cooling and more moist trend is expected early next week, however a slight increase in west winds is expected along the ridgetops during the daytime. 

Today:       

• Construct and improve fire line in all divisions where conditions allow, and personnel and equipment are available.
• Point Protection in the communities of Coffee Creek, Summerville, and Cecilville 
• Scout, perform structure triage assessments, and build control line west of Coffee Creek,
• Trinity Center, and Hwy-3 corridor to protect these values.
• Insert resources and construct direct fire line on the spot fire in the Parker Meadow to mitigate threat to the Hwy-3 and Trinity Center areas.

Resources:  

·       773 Personnel, 9 Helicopters, 48 Engines, 21 Dozers, 28 Water Tenders, 9 Masticators, 2 Skid-Steers

Evacuations: 

Evacuation Order: Cecilville, Summerville, Petersburg, and Coffee Creek Road Past Sugar Pine Trailhead in Trinity County.

Evacuation Warning: Sawyers Bar, Coffee Creek, Trinity Center

For specific information regarding evacuations, please visit https://www.co.siskiyou.ca.us/emergencyservices or https://www.trinitycounty.org/OES

An evacuation order means there is an immediate threat to life and is a lawful order to leave immediately.   An evacuation warning means there is a potential threat to life or property.  Those who require additional time to evacuate and those with pets and livestock should leave now.

Road Closures: Trinity County has issued a hard closure of Coffee Creek Road at North Fork Trailhead west of Hwy 3. The Callahan-Cecilville Road is closed from approximately one mile west of the community of Callahan to Cecilville.  The Sawyers Bar Road is closed from Forks of Salmon to Forest Road 40N51. 

Forest Closures:  The following National Forests are under Emergency Forest Closure, effective from August 22, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. through September 6, 2021, at 11:59 p.m.: Klamath National Forest, Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Six Rivers National Forest, Modoc National Forest, Tahoe National Forest, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Plumas National Forest, Mendocino National Forest, and Lassen National Forest.

For more information, please visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/

Smoke Report:  https://wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlooks/NorthernCalifornia