Weather expected to aid fight against Green Ridge Fire

Since it first burst into flame on Sunday, the Green Ridge Fire has held the advantage over firefighters. Hot temperatures, dry fuels and high winds — often gusting to 20 to 30 miles per hour — have pushed the fire from the west to the east. The fire is now estimated at 3,664 acres, with zero containment.

“The fire has been caught each day; the problem has been holding that fire in the afternoons with the wind,” Northwest Incident Management Team 10 Operations Chief Rob Pentzer reported during a virtual community briefing on Facebook on Friday evening.

Over the weekend, the weather advantage is shifting in favor of the firefighters, with higher humidity and quiet winds.

“The next couple days, we are really going to have a big advantage to really get around this fire and get firefighters in close,” Team 10 Fire Behavior Specialist Forest Ownbey reported.

Despite the fire’s proximity, Camp Sherman is considered safe from the fire unless there is a drastic shift in weather and fire conditions

That is a function of topography. The fire started from a lightning strike on August 16 on the steep west slope of Green Ridge, which looms over Camp Sherman.

“Fire does not want to run downhill, and so that is why it hasn’t made it to Camp Sherman,” Ownbey noted. “It’s been slowly backing down the hill… That’s a very advantageous aspect that we have had for our firefighters.”

Pentzer also noted that prescribed fire has provided a buffer of protection for the community.

No campgrounds are closed in the Metolius Basin, though many campgrounds are under Level 1 (Be Ready) evacuation notice.

The full briefing will continue to be available on the Northwest Incident Management Team 10 Facebook page.

Fire maps are available at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/maps/7012/.