DUFUR — There are now 385 personnel working the Boulder Fire, which started July 8 near the Boulder Lake Trailhead, 26 miles southwest of Dufur in the Mt. Hood National Forest’s Barlow Ranger District. The fire has burned approximately 234 acres and is reported to be 5% contained.
Today, July 13, fire crews plan to finish digging handlines, improving containment lines such as roads and bulldozer lines, and installing hose lays in preparation for mop-up operations, according to a NW Incident Management Team 10 press release. Mop-up efforts include carefully checking along containment lines and adjacent areas to locate and extinguish all heat sources so these lines will hold under current and expected fire behavior. Firefighters will also patrol for hot spots and use air resources as needed.                 Â
Conditions are forecast to continue warming and drying through the weekend, and fire managers are preparing for potentially critical fire weather early next week. Â
Many of the roadways, campgrounds and trails north and east of Forest Road 48 in the Barlow Ranger District are closed. Due to the high fire danger, open fire and target shooting restrictions have been implemented. For more information or to view the full closure order, visit the Forest Service webpage at www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/mthood/alerts-notices.Â
Boulder Lake Campground, Little Boulder Lake, Bonney Meadows Campground, Badger Lake Campground, Camp Windy, and Post Camp Campground are under a Level 3 (Go Now) evacuation.
Yesterday, firefighters continued to work on handlines and hose lays around the fire’s eastern side. While checking for heat beyond the southeast corner of the perimeter, fire crews found and extinguished a new hot spot as well as one that had reignited from the day before. Firefighters used heavy equipment to progress on containment. On the west side, firefighters completed a hose lay along the entire western perimeter and reinforced bulldozer lines throughout the division. Helicopters, dipping from Little Boulder Lake in the center of the fire area, used bucket drops to cool hot spots. Unburned fuels were removed from the northern edge using controlled fire, resulting in 5% containment by the end of yesterday’s shift. Â
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