UKIAH — The Birch Creek Fire has been declared 100% contained and was held to 32 acres on the North Fork John Day Ranger District in the Umatilla National Forest, officials with the U.S. Forest Service said Monday, Sept. 21.

“Crews are continuing mop up and ensuring that those containment lines will hold that fire in place,” said Darcy Weseman, spokesperson for the Umatilla National Forest. “Starting (on Monday, Sept. 21), they’re going to be putting the fire in patrol status.”

The fire had been burning since Sept. 14 about 12 miles to the northeast of Ukiah. According to Weseman, the Type 3 Incident Command Team in control of the fire relinquished management of it to forest service staff on Sunday.

Weseman said moderate weather conditions aided firefighters over the weekend as crews are now shifting their focus to securing better waterflow for suppression efforts and repair work on the roads used to secure containment.

The fire led to evacuations of nearby hunters and forest visitors, along with the closure of some portions of the forest and its roads. As of Monday, Weseman said the only closures that remain in effect are for the 110 spur and stretches of Forest Service Road 54 that have been closed due to damage from floods in February.

“The area of closure is now literally just the area surrounding the fire,” Weseman said.

While the Birch Creek Fire has been contained, Weseman cautioned fire danger remains extreme for the Umatilla National Forest due to the dry weather, and that public use restrictions remain in effect for campfi res and chain saw usage.

“Just really asking people to help us out by making sure those fires are deadout and following the restrictions that are in place,” Weseman said.