Jessica Cejnar Andrews / Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023 @ 11:13 a.m.
(Updated) Six Rivers NF: Holiday Fire North of Patrick Creek Burning at 528 Acres, No Threat to Life and Property Currently
Update, 4:05 p.m.
From the Del Norte Office of Emergency Services:
The EOC is activated at the lowest level and operating at the Flynn Center.
There are Level 3 mandatory evacuations in the little Jones Creek/Jawbone Area and Patricks Creek area. This is affecting about 10 households. Everbridge notifications are going out to those registered in the evacuation areas.
Highway 199 is closed from Mile post 16 to Mile post 31 due to fire activity.
There is a level 1 (Be Ready- Lowest Level) for Siskiyou Fork, Coon Creek:French Hill, Bar-O, and Washington Flat/Cal-Trans areas.
There are no evacuation orders for Gasquet at this time.
Six Rivers National Forest has reported that a Type 2 Incident Management Team will be reporting to Gasquet tomorrow.
Weather update from NWS:
A cooling trend will begin on Thursday with high temperatures 10-15 degrees cooler across the interior by the weekend, including Gasquet. There will be a continued threat of thunderstorms over the next 48 hours with lightning potentially igniting new fires. Thunderstorm chances will decrease over the weekend into early next week. Remnant moisture from a tropical system may bring rain to Del Norte County early to mid next week with a 10-20 percent chance of rain Tuesday through Wednesday
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All fire resources are committed to blazes across the Six Rivers National Forest including one that’s at 528 acres north of Patrick Creek in Del Norte County.
The Holiday Fire near the Oregon border is one of 11 reported across the Gasquet Ranger District as of about 9 a.m. Wednesday. It’s not threatening life or property and is in a remote area of the district that’s incredibly steep, Six Rivers PIO Adrianne Rubiaco told the Wild Rivers Outpost.
“We have fire staff up there and we also are ordering additional resources,” she said. “We started that yesterday and so we’re expecting them to come on to the forest today and through the coming days as well.”
Another fire, the Kelly Fire, has been mapped at 90 acres currently, Rubiaco said. It was reported about a mile south of Patrick Creek on the south side of U.S. 199. It’s visible from the highway, according to the Six Rivers National Forest Facebook page.
Rubiaco said the National Forest is still trying to get a handle on the whereabouts of all of its resources. Officials are also working on nailing down percentage calculations as well. She said they hoped to have that information available soon.
The Six Rivers National Forest reported roughly 150 lightning strikes since Tuesday evening that sparked 23 fires. Firefighters are combing the area to identify other potential starts. Rubiaco said resources also include air assets.
“Yesterday we had aircraft in Del Norte County dropping retardant on the Holiday Fire,” she said.
A red flag warning is in effect for Gasquet, Willow Creek, Orleans and Mad River areas. The weather forecast includes low relative humidity, warm temperatures and gusty winds.
From Six Rivers National Forest's Facebook page:
The Six Rivers National Forest received approximately 150 lightning strikes across the forest since Tuesday evening, resulting in 23 confirmed fires. Firefighters continue to assess current fires and patrol the area to identify other potential starts. All incidents remain under a full suppression strategy with rapid and aggressive initial attack operations. Air attack is being used to perform reconnaissance throughout the forest and additional resources have been ordered to support these incidents.
The Lower Trinity District has a total of 7 reported fires. The Pilot Fire, near Little Pilot Rock, is comprised of 6 separate incidents and is a total of 15 acres. Several air tankers and helicopters are currently working on these fires. Farther north, the Lone Pine Fire, near Horse Linto Creek and Trinity River, is now approximately 352 acres with fire personnel on site. The fire has burned onto the Hoopa Reservation and the forest is working in close coordination with the Tribe. The North Coast Interagency Type 3 Team has assumed command of the Lone Pine Fire as of 7 a.m. this morning, August 16.
On the Mad River District, 9 fires were reported; however, only 2 fires fall within the district boundaries. The Salt Fire and the Betts Fire are both in the Zenia area with fire personnel on the scene and responding to the incidents. The local fire department was able to fully contain one fire and is now in the stages of “mopping up.’
On the Orleans District in the Bluff Creek area north of Mosquito Lake, several fires have been grouped into the Blue Creek Fire. Smoke jumpers have arrived on the scene and are making progress on the 16-acre incident.
The northernmost District, Gasquet, has reported 11 active fires. The Holiday Fire, north of Patrick’s Creek near the Oregon border is currently the largest on the district at approximately 100 acres. The remaining 10 fires are currently under 10 acres each. The Kelly Fire is approximately 1 mile south of Patrick Creek on the south side of Hwy 199 and is visible from the road. Please exercise caution when driving in the area.
There is a red flag warning in effect for the Gasquet, Willow Creek, Orleans, and Mad River areas. Forecasted weather includes low relative humidity, warm temperatures, and wind gusts across the forest.
At this time there are no closures or evacuations in place. For evacuation information please contact your county sheriff’s office.
Information will be available on the forest website and Facebook page.
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