The Wooley Fire continues to grow, causing trail closures deep within the Marble Mountain Wilderness. A Fire Management Team is using three helicopters and 57 people to fight the fire. The Wooley Fire
Marble Mountain Wilderness
By Linda Jo Martin
Yreka, September 30, 2005 - The Wooley Fire, burning relentlessly in the Marble Mountain Wilderness since September 20 at 6pm, has forced closure of the Wooley Creek Trail from Fowler Cabin to Haypress Trail. Big Meadows Trail is also closed from the intersection with Wild Lake Trail to Wooley Trail. The Marble Mountain Wilderness remains open to the public, but hikers are encouraged to avoid the area of the fire.
As of Friday September 30 there were about 2,686 acres affected by the flames. The fire is at the confluence of the North Fork of Wooley Creek and the mainstem of Wooley Creek, 11 miles southwest of Lovers Camp Trailhead, and 15 miles northeast of the Wooley Creek Trailhead.
Jack L. Horner, Jr., Forest Recreation Officer for the Mendocino National Forest, wrote, "Smoke inversion broke around 3 pm Tuesday and fire got active. This produced lots of smoke that settled into the river drainages and valleys overnight."
Increased smoke was noticed in Happy Camp on the 28th and though much of it has dissipated, it continues to be a slight problem.
The Wooley Fire is being managed by Incident Commander Gary Cones and his Fire Management Team. They have around 60 people working on the fire including a Fire Use Module, Fire Effects Monitors, and 3 helicopters.
Wildland Fire Use management is not being used on this fire because the origin of the fire hasn't been determined. Wildland Fire Use allows fires of natural origin to produce resource benefits such as reduction of woody fuels and improvement of wildlife habitat if the fire doesn't threaten homes or structures, however many techniques used in Wildland Fire Use may be part of the Wooley Fire suppression strategy.
The main goals are firefighter safety, minimal fire supression cost, and protection of soil, water, fisheries and cultural resources. Minimum impact suppression techniques will be used as the fire is burning in the wilderness. The terrain is extremely steep, rocky, and densely vegetated. Rattlesnakes and poison oak are common.
Because of the dangers and because the fire is currently burning at low intensity in a remote area, the Fire Management Team isn't placing firefighters out in the terrain. Instead they are utilizing natural barriers such as creeks and ridges to contain the fire. Five specially trained firefighters are on the ground gathering information and looking for safe places from which to staff the fire, escape routes, and safety zones. Some crews are clearing the Wooley Trail to ensure passage of pack stock and people.
Those having sensitivity to smoke may want to consider limiting outside physical activities when smoke is dense. A smoke monitor was installed in Orleans to assess the effects of smoke on the public in the Klamath River Valley. For more information see Wildfire Smoke and Your Health. An infrared flight has been ordered for Friday night. Containment isn't expected until October 25.
For information on the fire you can call a recorded message phone line: 530-842-6131, extension 2, or visit the Klamath National Forest website or the Fire Inciweb.
Prior Press Releases
Map of the area affected by the Wooley Fire in the Marble Mountain Wilderness. Several trails and campgrounds have been closed due to the spread of flames. The Wooley Fire
Marble Mountain Wilderness
Smoke from the Wooley Fire blankets the hills in this photo taken September 27 looking south on Highway 96 in Happy Camp. Yreka, September 25, 2005 - The Wooley Fire, which is located 11 miles by trail southwest of the Lovers Camp trailhead for the Marble Mountain wilderness, has burned 829 acres as of 6 pm on September 25, 2005. “The fire continues to do a lot of positive resource benefits such as cleaning up some of the dead and down woody material and opening up brush fields which will improve wildlife habitat. This fire continues to burn underneath the heavy tree canopy on the slopes and we are pleased with how it is looking out there.” said Ray Haupt, Scott and Salmon District Ranger.
The Wooley Creek Trail is still closed from Fowler Cabin to the intersection with the Haypress Trail. The Big Meadows Trail is closed from the intersection with the Wild Lake Trail down to Wooley Creek Trail. All other trails are still open.
Smoke from the fire has been reported at numerous locations over the last few days throughout the Klamath region, including Yreka, Orleans, Fort Jones and Somes Bar. Smoke cleared out good Saturday and Sunday but settled into the drainage near the fire overnight. The smoke will likely to be present for some time.
The Klamath National Forest is taking actions to confine the fire, using natural barriers like ridges and creeks. Crew 4, a 10 person crew, was flown into the fire on Sunday to help the Fire Use Module crew of 8 and the 10 other local firefighters. “Saturday evening we had a spot fire just west of the North Fork of Wooley Creek. Sunday morning the crews found a one acre spot fire that was on the south side of the main fork of Wooley Creek. The crews, along with help from the helicopter doing water drops were able to get the spot fires put out.” said Gary Cones, Incident Commander, on the Wooley Fire.
Wooley Fire Update
Yreka, September 24, 2005 - The Wooley Fire, which is located 11 miles by trail southwest of the Lovers Camp trailhead for the Marble Mountain wilderness, has burned 325 acres as of 6pm on September 23, 2005. “The fire has burned down to the Wooley Creek Trail near the confluence of the mainstem of Wooley Creek and the North Fork of Wooley Creek. Because of the hazards of rolling rocks and trees falling across the trail, we are going to close the Wooley Trail from Fowlers Cabin to its intersection with the Haypress Trail. We also will be closing the Big Meadows Trail from the intersection with the Wild Lake Trail to the Wooley Creek Trail.” said Ray Haupt, Scott and Salmon District Ranger.
Smoke from the fire has been reported at numerous locations over the last few days throughout the Klamath region, including Yreka, Orleans, Fort Jones and Somes Bar. Winds from the northeast on Friday were pushing most of the smoke to the southwest towards Orleans. The smoke will likely to be present for some time.
The Klamath National Forest is taking actions to confine the fire, using natural barriers like ridges and creeks. A crew of eight firefighters from the Stanislaus National Forest that arrived last night are being flown into the fire today to assist the local firefighters with the on the ground operations. “Safety, for our firefighters and the public, is the number one objective for this fire. This fire is on some very steep slopes and we have had rocks and trees coming down across the Wooley Trail. Yesterday we had crews clearing the downed trees from the trail so we can pack supplies and equipment in to the crews if smoke settles in and our helicopters can not fly.” said Gary Cones, Incident Commander, on the Wooley Fire.
For the latest information of the fire you can call our recorded message phone line at 530.842.6131, extension 2.
The Wooley Fire
Yreka, September 23, 2005 - The Wooley Fire, located deep in the heart of the Marble Mountain wilderness, has burned 264 acres as of 6pm on September 22, 2005. “The fire continues to burn fuels on the ground, and is not up in the forest canopy. The fire grew a little bit today, but continues to burn with very low intensity and is still very isolated” said Ray Haupt, Scott and Salmon District Ranger.
The Klamath National Forest is taking suppression action on the fire, using natural barriers like ridges and creeks to contain the fire. Right now there are five specially-trained firefighters out there; they are collecting data and looking for safe places from which to staff the fire. To date, due to the extremely steep, rocky, and densely vegetated terrain they have been unable to locate safety zones or escape routes for crews. “Fire fighter safety is our top priority, and we will not place people at risk” Ranger Haupt commented. Smoke from the fire is reported at numerous locations throughout the Klamath region, including Yreka, Orleans, Fort Jones and Somes Bar. The smoke is likely to be present for some time.
Beginning Friday morning September 23rd at 6 am, Gary Cones’ Type II fire management team will take command of the fire. Incident Commander Cones is very familiar with using a light touch in fire suppression having recently fought similar fires in Idaho, the Grand Canyon and other places throughout the west this summer. “We are looking forward to working with the Klamath National Forest and are confident that this fire will not pose a threat to communities.”
The fire started on the ridge that separates the North Fork of Wooley Creek from the mainstem of Wooley in Section 18, Township 42N, Range 12W. The fire was first identified at approximately 7:30 pm on September 20; the cause remains under investigation. The public is advised that while the area is still open, they are encouraged to avoid the fire area. Hazards include burning and rolling material, helicopters, and the potential to fire behavior to change. Trailheads that access the fire area are being posted with cautionary information. The public can call 530.842.6131, extension 2 for updated information.
Deep in the Marble Mountain Wilderness the Wooley Fire is producing enough smoke to fill the Klamath River Valley including the air around Happy Camp. The photograph was taken from a helicopter at approximately 5:30 pm on September 21. The view is looking downstream along Wooley Creek (to the Southwest, toward the Salmon River). The bar in the lower right portion of the
picture is the helicopter window frame. Fire Burning in Marble Mountains,
SW of Fort Jones
Yreka, September 21, 2005 - The Wooley Fire, located deep in the heart of the Marble Mountain wilderness, has burned approximately 90 acres as of 6pm on September 21, 2005. “The fire is currently burning fuels on the ground, and is not up in the forest canopy; it is located in extremely remote and rugged terrain” said Ray Haupt, Scott and Salmon District Ranger. “We are seeing a lot of smoke in the valley, but so far the fire is doing good things on the ground; consuming forest litter and not many larger trees.”
The fire started on the ridge that separates the North Fork of Wooley Creek from the mainstem of Wooley in Section 18, Township 42N, Range 12W. Fire Division Chief Mike Kroetch said “We anticipate a long duration fire as the inaccessible terrain necessitates that we fight this fire indirectly. We have identified numerous ridges and streams that will be good places to contain the fire. We intend to keep suppression costs to a minimum.” The fire was first identified at approximately 7:30 pm on September 20; the cause is under investigation.
The public is advised that while the area is still open, they are encouraged to avoid the fire area. Hazards include burning and rolling material, helicopters, and the potential to fire behavior to change. A helicopter fly-over did not identify anyone in the area as of September 21, 2005. Trailheads that access the fire area are being posted with cautionary information. The public can call 530.842.6131, extension 2 for updated information.
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