September 3, 2023 1:50 p.m. 

Night shift fire crews took advantage of the good humidity recoveries to make solid progress Saturday on the Tyee Ridge Complex, burning northwest of Roseburg.

The complex remains listed at 6,674 acres and is now 21 percent contained. 1,829 people are assigned to the fire.

An update from the Northwest Incident Management Team 1 and the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Red Team said crews mopped up containment lines and connected and constructed control and contingency lines for upcoming tactical firing operations.

Sunday, ODF crews will continue line construction for those operations. Since certain areas are too steep and dangerous for firefighters to put a handline in, indirect line is constructed in a safer location. The area between that line and the fire is burned off. The update said this strategy is a very effective way to “fight fire with fire” and plan to halt fire spread. The tactical firing will happen in a smaller area that crews can’t access on the east portion of the fire. The tactical burn will work itself northeast along the uncontained edges of the fire. This activity will increase smoke over the fire area Sunday. Air resources will be flying, continuing to monitor any spot fires that may occur, dropping water and supporting firefighters on the line by dropping retardant.

With recent favorable weather minimizing threats to structures, the OSFM resources, including the Red Incident Management Team are returning to their home agencies Sunday. The delegation will be turned back over to local authorities for fire response.

Tyee Ridge updates are available: https://www.facebook.com/tyeeridgecomplex