Box Canyon area evacuated

AUFERHEIDE DRIVE: Last Friday Forest Service Road 19 (Aufderheide Drive) has been closed from Milepost 20 (just east of Kiahanie Campground) to Milepost 35 (south of the Roaring River Campground) due to the growth of the Cedar Creek Fire. The closure area includes the Box Canyon Campground, Box Canyon Staging Area/Horse Camp, and Skookum Creek Campground, as well as all the surrounding dispersed camping areas.

Under the Level 3 closure, people are told to not take time to gather things because of immediate and imminent danger.

On Tuesday, officials reported most of the fire growth occurred on the northeastern edge through the Charlton Fire burn scar. Predicted weather patterns were expected to increase fire behavior. Spotting distances will be .2 miles. Fuels, such as down logs, are extremely dry and will have a probability of ignition of 90%.

Firefighters planned to be working from the northeastern edge of Waldo Lake to improve the 514 road system up to the Taylor Burn Guard Station. That work was planned to establish an anchor point and primary line to build off of as the fire continues to move northeast.

Crews on the northern portion of the fire continue to improve Forest Road (FR) 2417 and the Winchester trail system towards the Taylor Burn Guard Station as the primary line and FR 19 as a contingency line.

On the southern edge, the crew will continue to hold and improve FR 2421. A spike camp will be established on the southeastern edge of the fire to finish the line on Black Creek, which may take several days.

High temperatures are predicted to reach 98°F in lower elevations and 90°F in higher elevations. Wind speeds will reach 6-8 mph with gusts of up to 16 mph.