On Saturday, July 15th, a new, wildland fire was reported at 6:00pm at Oak Flat, two miles southwest of Agness., and quickly grew 100+ acres after originally being reported as 20’x40’ in size.
The fire started near the Oak Flat Campground with initial response from multiple agencies including the U.S. Forest Service, Coos Forest Protective Association, Douglas Forest Protective Association and the Curry County Sheriff.
Initial attack firefighting resources deployed reportedly included 8 engines, 1 initial attack hand crew, 1 air attack (fixed wing airplane), 1 lead plane, 2 single engine air tankers, 2 medium helicopters, 1 large helicopters, 3 large air tankers, as well as 2 very large air tankers with numerous additional resources on order and enroute.
On Sunday morning, roughly 12 hours from its original reporting, due to high winds and steep terrain, the fire grew rapidly with the estimated size growing to 2000-3000 acres by 8:00am Sunday.
Numerous ground resources and air response had engaged the fire, however, fire behavior was extreme with ¼ mile spotting and fire spread on both sides of the Illinois River. With weather conditions and terrain not favorable and winds picking up in the afternoon and early evening , rapid growth was expected over the next few days as fire crews worked on the east flank with a Coos Forest Protective Association dozer, engines and a handcrew to protect the community of Oak Flat.
As of a Sunday evening press release from the U.S. Forest Service at 7:00pm, July 16th, the Flat Fire, was roughly estimated to be 4,000+ acres in size as crews spent much of Sunday focused on the protection of approximately 40 structures threatened in the communities of Oak Flat and Agness.
The fire has fully established itself on both sides of the Illinois River and is burning in the 2002 Biscuit Fire scar, with the fire making the biggest gains in the Lawson Creek drainage as winds push the blaze in west/ southwest and east northeast directions.
As multiple air tankers and Coos Forest Protective Association resources continued to work the fire, additional resources including 10 crews, 2 water tenders, 9 engines, 1 fixed wing, and 3 helicopters were deployed throughout Sunday.
A Red Flag Warning has been forecast by the National Weather Service for Monday and into the evening as east winds and poor overnight humidity recovery are expected.
