Bonanza, Ore. Due to reduced threat from the Elk Fire, Klamath County Sheriff’s Office has lifted all evacuation notices for areas around the fire. Crews continue to progress on both the Elk and Hagelstein Fires, increasing the depth of mop-up adjacent to the fireline.
Equipment has been pulled from the northwest area of the Elk Fire; this section has now been placed in patrol status. The rest of the fire is expected to be placed in patrol status by end of shift Tuesday. There may be some visible smoke from the Elk Fire as unburned fuel deep within the interior continues to burn. Suppression repair work on the Elk Fire is intended to reduce impacts to soil and water quality by installation of water bars and smoothing dirt berms.
On the Hagelstein Fire, crews are improving access routes on the east side of the fire and gridding the fire for heat and flames. The west side of the Hagelstein Fire has been mopped up 150 feet into the interior, with snag felling completed.
Oregon Department of Forestry Team 1 Incident Commander, Dan Quinones noted that, “Morale is high and with over 3,000 acres of fire suppression in the last 11 days, both fires will be in a good place to transfer back to the local district and forest in the near future.” Last night and today resources have begun to be released from the Elk and Hagelstein Fires to either assist other fires, or to rest and get ready for their next deployment.
Cooler temperatures and higher humidities will be expected today, allowing crews to focus on mop up and suppression repair. Warmer trends can be expected in the coming days.
The Fremont-Winema National Forest has implemented forest area closures around the fires for public and firefighter safety. The closure area is posted and maps are available at https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/fremont-winema/alerts.
