Update: New closures for Cedar Fire at Waldo Lake

This story was updated at 9:56 a.m. Monday

A new closure order was issued around Waldo Lake on Monday morning in response to the growth of the Cedar Creek Fire, which reached 17,625 acres.

The new closures includes the lake and everything immediately around it. All campgrounds at Waldo Lake are now closed.

The fact that the fire is now north of Waldo Lake, which had been a natural barrier from it spreading east, bring about the new closures.

The fire hasn't been super active since its blowup on Friday night, growing a limited amount over the weekend, but with its increased size, the fire crew managing it has added about 250 personnel and now have 832 people working the blaze.

A breakdown of where the fire stands can be found here.

The Double Creek Fire grew rapidly 43,668 acres in northeast Oregon. New fire crews are providing structure protection. Fire activity is expected to pick up on Tuesday and Wednesday’s with warm and dry weather returning to the area.

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ORIGINAL STORY

The Double Creek Fire in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest increased tenfold overnight from 3,843 acres Saturday to 37,862 acres Sunday morning, growing rapidly to the north and east.

Gov. Kate Brown invoked the emergency conflagration act Saturday in response to the Double Creek Fire near the community of Imnaha in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. The Wallowa County Sheriff’s Office issued evacuation notices including those telling people to leave their homes immediately.

Chris Barth, a public information officer with Pacific Northwest Team 2, said the incident management team assumed control Saturday morning and it's difficult to know the accuracy of previous numbers. But infrared flights from late Saturday night show the fire at nearly 38,000 acres.

Barth said the dramatic increase in size has forced crews to shift to protecting life and property.

"Yesterday it was that cold front that moved through with some pretty extreme gusts out of the south, and that, on all the fires we're managing, had an effect on fire behavior, Barth said. "Despite some lighter winds today we're still going to see some warm and dry conditions."

The fire was detected on Tuesday and started by lightning.

Brown’s declaration allows the fire marshal to take command and send other agency resources to help local firefighters battling the blaze. Firefighters have been working to suppress the fire with helicopter and air tanker support, officials said.

“With many fires actively burning across the state and several weeks of peak fire season ahead of us, I am urging all Oregonians to be prepared," Brown said in a statement.

Red flag warnings are in place across much of central, southern and eastern Oregon. Officials expected fires to stay active until cooler weather arrives.

While nothing similar to the extreme east winds that fueled the 2020 Labor Day Fires is forecast, Oregon’s major wildfires are all expected to see growth. That has led to degraded air quality in many places, particularly in the south and central parts of the state.

Cedar Creek Fire

The Cedar Creek Fire burning near Waldo Lake grew by roughly 400 acres Saturday night and crossed a retardant line near Edith Creek. Fire crews attempted to engage the fire at the line but were unable to gain safe access due to the terrain.

The fire, which started during a lightning storm in early August, was listed at 16,715 acres Sunday morning, up from 9,000 acres on Friday. A video posted Saturday morning explained the fire made its "significant run" to the north because of an unforeseen wind event.

The fire's growth brought level 3 evacuations to most areas around Waldo Lake on Friday night. The "go now" orders included the east Waldo and Box Canyon areas, including North Waldo and Islet campgrounds, along with Irish and Taylor Lake campgrounds and north along the Pacific Crest Trail.

Shadow Bay Campground and the area to the southwest of Bobby Lake were added to the level 3 evacuation notice Saturday afternoon. Other areas were upgraded to level 2 "be ready" evacuation levels, and officials introduced level 1 "be ready" notices for other areas.

There's detailed information on areas under an evacuation notice, as well as more on the fire, available at bit.ly/cedar-creek-evacuation-levels.

Fire officials recommended people recreating during Labor Day weekend avoid Waldo Lake. Waldo Lake technically remains open but that could easily change, as closures sometimes take a while to get signed by the U.S. Forest Service.

The fire was not threatening any homes, communities or structures except the Waldo Lookout. Officials expect the fire to stay active into Monday.

Wallowa Mountain wildfires

There are two other wildfires besides the Double Creek Fire burning in the Wallowa Mountains and another outside Baker City that have grown recently.

Sturgill Fire, in the North Minam Drainage of the Eagle Cap Wilderness, is around8,600acres, while the Nebo Fire, also in the wilderness, is around6,950acres.

Lookouts are directing helicopter bucket drops as needed for the Sturgill Fire, officials said, and otherwise crews are working to prevent the spread of the two fires and protect nearby structures.

The Crockets Knob Fire is 4,136 acres and east of Baker City.

Rum Creek Fire

The Rum Creek Fire outside Grants Pass grew to roughly 18,966 acres by Sunday, fueling poor air quality across the southern half of the state. Containment on the blaze increased to 27%, indicating some progress in protecting homes and buildings in the Galice and Merlin areas.

The Office of the Oregon State Fire Marshal began demobilizing resources from the Rum Creek Fire Saturday, according to the office. Two task forces have been reassigned to the Double Creek Fire and others are returning to their home units.

One aircraft assigned for infrared mapping of Rum Creek Fire competed its last mapping flight there and has been reassigned to another fire.

Ben Lonergan is a multimedia journalist at The Register-Guard. You may reach him at BLongeran@registerguard.com

Statesman Journal outdoors reporter Zach Urness can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801 or on Twitter @ZachsORoutdoors.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: New closure issued at Waldo Lake area after Cedar Creek Fire grows