WALLOWA — Sustained mop-up operations have allowed firefighters to push containment of the Winding Waters Complex of wildfires near Wallowa to 83%, fire officials reported Monday, Aug. 5, in their daily update.

Mop-up work throughout the weekend significantly increased the security of fire lines, the daily update said. Air support remains available to assist firefighters.

The five fires in the complex — Charlie Brown, Mountain View, Big Canyon, Courtney Creek and Water — have burned 752 acres as of the morning of Aug. 5. Firefighting costs have reached $6.1 million. No injuries have been reported and no evacuation notices have been issued.

Some of the resources assigned to the Winding Waters Complex have been made available for reassignment to other fires. In some cases, firefighters will be able to return home for a few days of rest.

As of that morning, 362 firefighters were working on the complex with 14 hand crews, 12 engines, one ambulance, two dozers, five water tenders and one smidgen. Six helicopters also are available. 

Control of the five-fire complex in northwestern Wallowa County will be handed off at 6 p.m. Aug. 5 to a local Type 4 Incident Command team from the Oregon Department of Forestry. Since late last week, the ODF’s Incident Management Team 2 had been in charge.

Matt Howard, incident commander with Incident Management Team 2, praised Wallowa community members for their support. “On behalf of our team, the support this community has shown for our firefighters has really been special,” he said in the daily update.

Sunny conditions with highs near 89 are expected Aug. 5, with a 30% chance of precipitation. But fire officials also are watching a red flag warning for abundant lightning that has been issued for the morning and afternoon. Winds of up to 50 mph were possible near thunderstorms, according to the warning from the National Weather Service.

Public use and industrial restrictions remain in effect on both ODF and U.S. Forest Service jurisdictions.

Contact the Blue Mountain Interagency Dispatch Center at 541-963-7171 or dial 911 to report a fire or smoke. Blue Mountains fire updates can be found at http://bluemountainfireinfo.blogspot.com/.

To report fires or seek more information, email imt2.fireinfo@odf.oregon.gov or visit https://linktr.ee/WindingWatersComplex2024.