Vinegar Fire Daily Update

The Vinegar fire is located approximately 6.5 miles southwest of Granite, Oregon. It is burning in the Greenhorn Unit of the North Fork John Day Wilderness Area, in a mixed conifer stand of subalpine fir and lodgepole pine. The fire is moving through heavy dead and down fuel. Grasses and forbs in the fire area are green and are not carrying fire. There are 517 people assigned to work on the fire. The southeast and east sides of the fire continue to be the highest priority. A fuel break has been completed on the southeast side to reduce the potential fire behavior should the fire cross containment lines near the community of Greenhorn. A containment line along the Ben Harrison Trail on the north side of the fire is nearing completion. Ben Camp, a spike camp, has been established for these crews. Fire behavior has included occasional single tree or small group torching and spotting. Spot fires are being aggressively attacked with ground and aviation resources to minimize fire growth. The weather pattern is expected to change beginning Wednesday, with a slight chance of thunderstorms. A Fire Weather Watch has been issued for the area beginning Thursday afternoon and continuing into Friday morning. An anchor point is being established in the Salmon Creek area. An anchor point is an advantageous location, usually a barrier to fire spread, from which to start constructing a fireline. The anchor point is used to minimize the chance of being flanked by the fire while the line is being constructed. Evacuation notices remain the same.The Alamo area residents have been advised to prepare to evacuate, while the Greenhorn residents have been advised of the fire status and potential in their location. Road and area closures are in place surrounding the fire area. Details about the closures are available by calling Vinegar Fire Information at 541-755-9003.

Basic Information
Incident Type	Wildfire
Cause	Lightning
Date of Origin	Wednesday August 14th, 2013 approx. 11:00 AM
Location	27 miles NE of John Day, OR
Incident Commander	Brian J. Watts
Current Situation
Total Personnel	517
Size	913 acres
Estimated Containment Date	Friday August 30th, 2013 approx. 12:00 AM
Fuels Involved	Timber (litter and understory)Subalpine fir with dead and down.
Fire Behavior	Active fire behavior with single tree/group tree torching and spotting.
Significant Events	Level I evacuation notification for Greenhorn. Level II evacuation notifications recommended for Alamo located north of Greenhorn. Area and road closures in effect August 19th. Construction of secondary and primary containment lines in Branch II.
Total Personnel	517
Size	913 acres
Estimated Containment Date	Friday August 30th, 2013 approx. 12:00 AM
Fuels Involved	Timber (litter and understory)Subalpine fir with dead and down.
Fire Behavior	Active fire behavior with single tree/group tree torching and spotting.
Significant Events	Level I evacuation notification for Greenhorn. Level II evacuation notifications recommended for Alamo located north of Greenhorn. Area and road closures in effect August 19th. Construction of secondary and primary containment lines in Branch II.
Outlook
Planned Actions	Point protection, finish construction of containment lines on east side of fire. Continue contingency line preparation.
Growth Potential	High
Terrain Difficulty	High
Current Weather
Wind Conditions	20 mph NW
Temperature	89 degrees
Humidity	16%