Days Creek, Or — As Firefighters make slow but steady progress on the stubborn Stouts Fire more and more resources are being called in to fight the blaze, but those resources aren’t limited to fire crews and trucks.
Behind the helicopters, the fire trucks, fire fighters is a team of experts working to predict the behaviors of the fire and find the best route to fight it.
That’s where the Stouts Fire situation command comes into play.
“This is the progression map, shows how the Fire has grown on a day to day basis,” said Scott Weishaar pointing out maps detailing the fire lines.
A math classroom at Days Creek Charter School has been converted to a war room.
“It doesn’t take much to get these fuels going, so that’s one added thing to take into account,” said Weishaar.
Incident Meteorologist Weishaar is leading the charge, waking up at 4am every morning.
“Meetings, briefings, and I also spend time out in the field seeing what’s going on,” said Weishaar.
Weishaar and the situation command team use weather information to predict where the fire will go and create a plan of attack for crews on the ground and in the air.
“We’re looking at flame heights in some areas of 30, 40 feet or more,” said John O’Connor, Staging Area Manager.
“Just one of the advantages of working in the 21st century, the more equipment you have the better in a large incident like this,” said O’Connor.
Working together in the field, and in the classroom to turn back the Stouts Fire.
Situation command has set up two new weather systems to better track winds and humidity around the Stouts Fire.
Weishaar says conditions next week look good for fire crews fighting the Fire.
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