Here's a link to a short video from the cab of a state highway truck as they're driving 224 through the fire area.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1h4QeImABs&feature=youtu.be

Wow - that video was really interesting!  Parts didn't look as bad as  I thought they might though - there is still green amongst the burned areas.  Not sure exactly where he was driving, though.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate in the coming days and they will start to get a handle on it.

Here's an updated infrared map. I think it was generated from an airplane flight last night. It looks like the fire grew a bit yesterday. The humidity seems a lot higher this morning. Hopefully that will slow it down. Plus all the additional firefighting resources being brought online.

The inciweb update this morning said it was pretty quiet last night due to the increased humidity.  They only showed it increasing 58 acres last night.  Hopefully that trend will continue, with minimal expansion.

Rob Williams said ...it was pretty quiet last night due to the increased humidity.  They only showed it increasing 58 acres last night.

You spoke before all the new reports went up. The map kirk posted near the same time as you has the detail - its now at 3588 'infrared acres', a gain of 1233 acres in the 19 1/2 hours between the two maps. The map shows yesterday's boundaries at 3 AM and last nights at 9:24 PM The scary part is is the growth towards Estacada. The boundary for the main area enlarged half a mile NW towards Estacada downstream. A sizable spot fire is another mile NW. With earlier fire spread, Estacada is now 5 1/2 miles from the fire. The news articles are still using the phrase "started ten miles SE of Estacada" which does not give the current situation. With all this the biggest area of fire growth is south of the river! And the fire is still "0 percent contained". There are 4 campgrounds within a mile of the upstream edge of the fire. Hopefully the changes in weather will slow fire growth and prevent crowning. If so there will be some containment especially above along Dee Flats. Steep areas along the river will be difficult. If the fire stays on the ground the overall effect will be forest thinning with the larger Doug firs the main survivors.

Here's today's fire map. It looks like there wasn't much growth on the western and eastern fronts, but it's still creeping along the steep hillsides.

Looks like Carter Bridge campground is toast....  But at least the rate of growth has slowed for the moment.  Only about 500 acres yesterday. Hoping for rain.  The weekend isn't going to be kind - sounds like it is going to get hot again.  Hopefully it will give them some time to establish a perimeter before the heat cranks up again.

They may have been able to save the campground.  Hard to say until tomorrow's map is released. Here's an update:

09/17/2014 Fire Update 26 Pit Fire

Incident: 36 Pit Fire Wildfire Released: 52 min. ago Washington IMT 2 Incident Commander – Bruce Holloway

ODF Incident Commander – Russ Lane

Oregon Fire Marshal Blue Team Incident Commander – Scott Magers

  36 Pit Fire Update September 17, 2014 – 1:00 PM   FIRE INFORMATION WEBSITE: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4106/ INFO PHONE: 360-280-4352 or 503-630-1711 EMAIL: 36pitfire@gmail.com Fire Information Office Hours: 8:00 am -8:00 pm

Excellent progress to contain the 36 Pit Fire occurred yesterday along the northern and western perimeters of the fire. Dozer and hand lines were constructed to contain portions of the fire’s northern perimeter. Natural features and Road 4610 are also being used to contain the fire on the northern flank. The highest priority is to continue to hold and contain the western and northern portions of the fire since these locations are closest to any structures, industrial forest land, and other resource values.

 

Yesterday, burn out operations went well in the vicinity of the Silver Fox RV Park creating a smoke plume that was visible to many residents of the Estacada area. Yesterday afternoon and through part of last night’s shift, fire crews burned out fuel located between Road 4610 and Highway 224 near the Silver Fox RV Park. However, last night, increased humidity caused burn out operations to be suspended. Today, as temperatures increase and relative humidities decrease, firefighters intend to complete the burn out near the Silver Fox RV Park. Burn out will continue to happen at the north and the northwest portions of the fire. Burn out of fuels is a fire suppression tactic used to reinforce fire lines and to consume fuels adjacent to structures. Residents of the Estacada area may see visible smoke as burn out operations proceed.

 

Along the southern perimeter of the fire, firefighters continue to identify roads and other locations where they can safely contain the fire. However, there may be opportunities to build containment directly adjacent to the fire dependent on favorable weather conditions. Firefighters are contending with very steep terrain and are evaluating locations where fire line can be safely constructed.

  A Unified Command led by Incident Commander Russ Lane of the Oregon State Department of Forestry, Bruce Holloway of Washington Incident Management Team 2, and Scott Magers of the Oregon State Fire Marshal Blue Team are leading the fire suppression effort. The local Estacada fire District 69 has been heavily involved in the fire suppression efforts. Structure protection task forces and Blue Team management personnel mobilized under the Oregon State Conflagration Act continue to work on the north and west side of the fire, assisting with protection and mop up operations around those affected homes, including the Silver Fox RV Park. Structure protection resource needs will continue to be evaluated throughout today and will likely begin to demobilize over the next couple of days as the threat to those structures lessen.

Looks like the old bridge over the south fork is right at the edge of the burn. Really hoping it survived. The sign on the Christian camp trail also looks to have survived. Gonna be very wierd seeing all the burnt hills. 

Here's a link to a blog about smoke from the various wildfires around the state: http://oregonsmoke.blogspot.com/

I didn't like this quote I just read. Oregon 224 will remain closed indefinitely south of town -- perhaps even after firefighters have left the area -- because of landslides, said incident commander Bruce Holloway. "The fire has gone up there and burned the vegetation off,'' Holloway said. "It loosens boulders, dead trees fall over and they're sliding down on the road. It's not just a few rocks, it's actual landslides."

Keeping 224 closed will most likely be an unfortunate reality. If you go back to the video of the snowplow that kirk posted, you can see when the vehicle went around a slide that blocked half the road. It hasn't started raining yet, and when it does expect large amounts of debris and not just near streams. I remember after The Falls Fire in the Gorge and the road not just blocked but buried a yard or two and sometimes much more for long distances. The Bowl Fire several years back was not far upstream from the current fire. It was entirely south of the river. Most of the old firs survived, with thin-barked maple and cottonwood the main fatalities along with most of the shrubs (many of which resprouted). Almost all of that burn was ground fires only. It was entirely driven by downstream winds, like at the beginning of 36 Pit. Our big unknown is how much of this burn is ground fires only and how much stand-replacing crown fires or torching. That tidbit of information isn't making the news and probably never will. I heartily recommend viewing the Google Earth kml fire "incident perimeters" available at http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4106/ in the right sidebar. The Google ruler tool is easy to use and provides simple distance measurement. For example, the 50 acre spot fire - which is now stopped - was only a quarter mile from the nearest homestead structures. That's a few minutes burn time under extreme conditions, which don't exist now but could return for the weekend. It also shows that at the moment the fire boundaries were drawn (infrared flight at 1:42 AM) the fire was still uphill from Carter Bridge Campground. Firefighters have been known to perform heroics to save campgrounds in the past and that provides some hope for the four campgrounds now so close to the burns edge. The best news yet is a 70% chance of rain next Wednesday. They are giving a 40% chance tonight. Check this article out on the cause: /local/Man-says-he-saw-start-of-36-Pit-fire-near-Estacada-275367601.html?tab=video&c=y

Speaking of road closures, I was on the FS website tonight and it said that the junction 4610.220 to junction 5800 closed 9/14/14 due to 36 Pit Fire. I couldn't find the 4610.220 road on our district map. Am I loosing it or just need to renew my eyeglass prescription? I know the 4610.240 is the Frazier Road; 4610.190 is the High Rock Springs Road; and 4610.200 is by High Rock, but I'm not seeing 4610.220. Just scratching my head here.

Update on the 4610.220 road! Luckily I found my Zigzag district map that shows the 4610.220 road just to the north of High Rock. Our district map has the map legend box on that spot of the map. So that tells me the FS shutdown the upper access to the Roaring River Wilderness. So no Hambone or Frazier Turnaround access, is that what I'm seeing? If I was the district ranger, I probably would have done the same thing until they get control of this fire. It's not over yet folks!

UGH!  It looks like you are correct, Don.  Looks like they cut off access to High Rock, High Rock Spring campground, Linney, Hambone and Frazier Turnaround.  I guess that kind of makes sense due to the volatile nature of the fire, but it really sucks! It sounds like they are starting to get a handle on the fire, with something like 800 people working on it now.  It is possible they will remove this closure soon, but I wouldn't bet on it. Interestingly enough, Frazier Turnaround is not part of the closure area.  The closure area stops at the Roaring River: http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprd3816844.pdf

BrianEdwards said Looks like the old bridge over the south fork is right at the edge of the burn. Really hoping it survived. The sign on the Christian camp trail also looks to have survived. Gonna be very wierd seeing all the burnt hills. 

The map today shows it right at the confluence.  I kind of doubt that bridge will survive, since I'm sure the fire will grow more.  That is such a shame.  At least I'm glad I got to see it before it got consumed.  It is going to be VERY weird once we can get back in there.

Here's this mornings fire map.  It looks like it's dieing down. Just a little growth on the south edge.

Donald Presley said Update on the 4610.220 road! Luckily I found my Zigzag district map that shows the 4610.220 road just to the north of High Rock. Our district map has the map legend box on that spot of the map. So that tells me the FS shutdown the upper access to the Roaring River Wilderness. So no Hambone or Frazier Turnaround access, is that what I'm seeing? If I was the district ranger, I probably would have done the same thing until they get control of this fire. It's not over yet folks!

It's interesting that the road conditions page has this closure listed. That road isn't mentioned in the official closure notice released on 9/14. http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprd3816842.pdf

Hopefully the rain is reaching the fire and is helping a bit as well.  I guess the rain and humidity are a double edged sword - it helps reduce the fire, but it means they can't set backfires (to create fire breaks). This morning's map is good news.  Hopefully that will continue.

The rain today should help. Also, the drive up the beginning of Road 45 is gonna be radically different with no trees blocking the view from the cliffy perch.