Wallowa-Whitman National Forest schedules public fire information briefing
Published 8:03 pm Thursday, September 1, 2022
BAKER CITY — The Wallowa-Whitman National Forest will be hosting a public meeting in response to the wildfires in the forest.
The meeting is set for Friday, Sept. 2, at 6 p.m. at the Joseph Community Center, 201 North Main St., Joseph.
During the meeting, presenters from the U.S. Forest Service, will discuss updates to each fire status and future planning. The overall goal of the meeting is to keep the public informed about fires occurring on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest and answer potential questions residents may have.
There are three fires currently burning in Wallowa County.
The Sturgill Fire, about 15 miles southwest of Enterprise, has burned more than 4,800 acres and is 0% contained, as of 7 am. Sept. 1. The Nebo Fire has burned more than 3,000 acres in the Lick Creek Drainage area and is also 0% contained. Both fires are managed wilderness fires, utilizing suppression efforts to protect private property and forest service infrastructure.
The Double Creek Fire, along Hat Point Road near Grizzly Ridge, has burned 1,500 acres and is not a managed wilderness fire and is receiving full fire suppression efforts to protect nearby properties and resources. More than 120 personnel are actively working the fire. Firefighters are engaged in active fire suppression with helicopter and air tanker support, according to inciweb.com.
Wallowa County Sheriff Joel Fish said in a press release early Sept. 1 that Hat Point Road above Imnaha was closed because of trees down across the road the fire brought down.
“There are fire crews trying to cut their way out,” he said.
No one was injured and no structures are threatened at present, he said.
Fish’s mandatory evacuation orders, in addition to Hat Point Road, includes all of Freezeout Road.
Level 2 evacuation — the “Get Set to Leave” level — includes the Rippleton Creek drainage south to the Imnaha Grange.
The Level 1 areas — “Be Ready to Leave” stage — include the town of Imnaha south to the Rippleton Creek drainage, the Imnaha Grange south to the Pallete Ranch and the Imnaha River Woods.
