Monday, September 21, 2015

BLUFF CREEK NOW OPEN AGAIN. Nickowitz Fire Still Burning, but Now Mostly Contained.

CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE
NEWS FLASH:
BLUFF CREEK NOW OPEN AGAIN!

Just in time to be open for a couple of weeks or so before the seasonal Fall closure (technically set for October 1st, if it starts raining), Bluff Creek is open again. The Nickowitz Fire has moved west and north, and is mostly contained. At one point it came to about half a mile from the PGF site, and easily could have burned through the creek basin had the winds changed and blown it down from Lonesome Ridge (see image below). Here are the current orders for closure around Blue Creek, Nickowitz Peak, the upper G-O Road, Onion Lake area, and the edges of the Siskiyou Willderness. Bluff Creek via 12N10 is apparently impossible, but access can be had through the lower G-O Road, Slate Creek Road, or Cedar Camp Road. It appears that Fish Lake/Onion Mountain ("Bluff Creek Road") is closed at the top, before Onion Lake and Onion Mountain. So, access to the PGF site and Louse Camp is only possible from the northern/eastern side.

Merv George, head of Six Rivers National Forest, and friend of Bluff Creek Project, signed the new orders a few days ago. Click the images to enlarge and read them.




This image shows just how close the fire burned to the Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot film site, indicated by rule and red dot at right.

Nickowitz Fire Line, in mid-August, near BLuff Creek.
Click Image to Enlarge.

GET UPDATES ON THE FIRE DAILY HERE:
http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4466/

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Friday, September 11, 2015

Nickowitz Fire Still Burning above Bluff Creek and Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot Film Site

NEWS FLASH:

Burning since lightning struck on August 1st, the Nickowitz Fire is still active right above the historic Bluff Creek Bigfoot area. It burned within only a half a mile of the Patterson-Gimlin Film Site, as you may see in the following graphic. This was the closest the fire burned, in mid-late August.

CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGES
Currently the fire has been largely contained, but is still active in hot, dry conditions, with occasional winds coming off the coast to the inland. It will likely burn until the first heavy rains of fall. Here is the current official ops map for Sept. 11th. The PGF site is a small red dot to the right.


Bluff Creek itself remains closed, with heavy penalties if you go up there (so don't). The roads away from the fire and the creek basin, The G-O Road to 12N12, Slate Creek, and Cedar Camp are still open, as is the Fish Lake/Onion Mountain (Bluff Creek) Road up almost to Onion Lake (which latter is in the closure zone).

Here is the map detailing the road/area closures that are still in effect indefinitely.

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