Single Publication

Email: 2024.whiskycreek@firenet.gov

Incident Information Phone Line: 541-208-1743 – daily 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Whisky Creek Fire Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/2024WhiskyCreekFire

InciWeb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-news/ormhf-whisky-creek-fire

Smoke Report: https://www.airnow.gov/
 

Whisky Creek Fire

0% Contained

856 Acres

6 miles SE of Cascade Locks, OR

Burning in scrub oak, timber and grass 

Highlights

Yesterday, reduced wind speeds on the fire resulted in low to moderate fire behavior. Today, with the return of westerly winds, fire behavior is expected to increase with the possibility of more smoke. 

Operations

Crews continue to prepare containment lines, clearing roads and trails, to the southeast along the Rainy-Wahtum Trail #409 from Rainy Lake to Wahtum Lake and continuing to the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) approximately one mile to the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire burn area. Crews are clearing thick brush along roads with the assistance of masticators to create fire breaks. Firefighters are also digging line from Wahtum trail to the Eagle Creek burn to use as a containment line. A temporary reroute of the PCT to the Eagle Creek Trail is expected. To the east of the fire, crews continue to strengthen a containment line along the Gorton Creek Trail #408 and identifying potential contingency lines further east. 

Fire Behavior & Weather

The fire is burning within the Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness and moving steadily along the eastern edge up Woolly Horn Ridge and west towards Waucoma Ridge. The fire continues to slowly back into the 2017 Eagle Creek burn. Moderate growth is expected to continue around the fire’s edges. Smoke will continue to be visible, especially in the afternoon, as fire consumes denser pockets of vegetation. Westerly flows return today along with temperatures in the 70s and relative humidity in the 40s. A remote weather station (RAWS) has been set up on Mt. Defiance to assist the incident meteorologist and fire behavior analyst make informed predictions specific to the fire location.

Evacuations, Road and Trail Closures, and Restrictions

The Mt. Hood National Forest and the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area have issued a joint emergency closure for the fire area. Closure information can be found on the Mt. Hood National Forest website Alerts & Closures page at: Whisky Creek Fire Closures in Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness. Hood River County has closures in effect for Kingsley Campground, Kingsley Road, Dead Point Road, and Green Point Road viewable on their website.

Total Fire Resources Assigned

• Approx. 301 personnel, 6 hand crews, 4 water tenders, 3 dozers, 5 masticators and 2 helicopters.