Pre-Notification Evacuations Ordered in Puzzle Fire

Pre-evacuation notification has been issued for Marion Forks, but NO evacuation has yet been issued. The fire is 30 percent contained and has charred 5,500 acres.

(MARION FORKS) - Here is the latest information on the Puzzle Fire: Low overnight relative humidities, along with high temperatures and sustained strong east winds in the early morning, pushed the southwest corner of this fire across a 1/4 mile lava field into a stringer of heavy fuels in the Puzzle Creek drainage early in the day on Saturday.

Westward expansion of the fire was checked by aggressive use of retardant and the hard work of the ground crews.

It has not moved any further downstream toward Marion Forks since mid-afternoon.

Pre-evacuation notification was issued for Marion Forks, but no evacuation was called. The western perimeter of the new fire activity on the SW part of the fire is now in the vicinity of Lake Ann.

Fire activity also escalated at the northeast corner of the fire near North Cinder Peak.

A spot fire was found due north of the suppression line along Bingham Ridge but was contained by nightfall.

Five heavy air tankers, in conjunction with helicopter bucket work and ground crews, worked together to slow the fire spread in all divisions.

Smoke in areas such as Sisters and Prineville is an indication that a favorable wind change has occurred on the fire itself

Persons are warned that current or projected threats from hazards associated with the approaching fire are severe.

Fire officials on the Cascade Crest Complex, along with the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, have initiated an evacuation pre-notification for residents west of the Puzzle Fire including Marion Forks.

This is only a PRE-NOTIFICATION and not an actual evacuation. The official language of the notification is on this site under "announcements" and is also being posted in the affected areas.

The fire is being driven west by the wind and has spotted as much as ½ mile ahead of the main fire. It has reached a knob south of Puzzle Creek and ½ mile NE of Ann Lake. Several large air tankers are responding and dropping retardant to slow the spread of the spot fires while crews on the ground are working on containing them. The actual evacuation line is still about 2 miles west and NO EVACUATION HAS BEEN TRIGGERED.

Lynn Wilcock, Incident Commander for the Alaska Incident Management Team, says people should certainly take the time to prepare valuables and documents to be moved quickly, but not panic. “We don’t want anyone to think this notification means its time to evacuate. It’s more of a ‘heads up’ notification. But it is time to think about gathering the five “P’s” – people, prescriptions, papers, pets, and pictures.”

Captain Joe Larsen of the Linn County Sheriff’s Office says people in the Marion Forks area have been notified. “The pre-evacuation contacts have been made in the affected area and people in that area will be notified if the fire reaches the actual evacuation line.”

This is the time for preparation, and precautionary movement of persons with special needs, mobile property, and pets and livestock.

Conditions indicate a good probability that hazards associated with the approaching fire will severely limit our ability to provide emergency service protection.