Little Yamsay Fire

{{Short description|2024 wildfire in Oregon}}

{{Use American English|date=May 2025}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}

{{Infobox wildfire|image=Smoke column from the Little Yamsay Fire as seen on Silver Lake Road - May 11, 2024.jpg|caption=Smoke column from the fire as seen on Silver Lake Road|date={{Unbulleted list|{{Start date|2024|04|20}} – |{{End date|2024|05|13}}}}|area={{convert|6340|acre|ha sqmi km2|0}}|fatalities=0|injuries=0|cost=$5.3 million (2024 USD) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration finalized report on the wildfire:

  • {{cite web |author1=National Centers for Environmental Information |title=Oregon Event Report: Wildfire April 2024 |url=https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=1175617 |website=Storm Events Database |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |date=July 2024}}
  • {{cite web |author1=National Centers for Environmental Information |title=Oregon Event Report: Wildfire May 2024 |url=https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=1175619 |website=Storm Events Database |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |date=August 2024}}|percent_contained=100%|cause=Lightning|year=2024|season_name=2024 Oregon wildfires|season_year=2024 Oregon wildfires|is_season=2024 Oregon wildfires|season=2024 Oregon wildfires|motive=Utilized to help prevent future wildfires}}{{Wikisource|The Finalized Report on the 2024 Little Yamsay Fire|The U.S. government's finalized report on the Little Yamsay Fire}}

The 2024 Little Yamsay Fire was a wildfire that burned in Klamath County, Oregon from April 20 to May 13, 2024. The fire was utilized to help break up the forests around Klamath Falls, and was 100% contained as of August 2024. It was the first wildfire of the 2024 Oregon wildfire season,{{Cite web |last=Corser |first=Bobby |date=2024-05-13 |title=Southern Oregon battles first wildfire of 2024 as Little Yamsay Fire scorches 6,300 acres |url=https://ktvl.com/news/local/southern-oregon-battles-first-wildfire-of-2024-as-little-yamsay-fire-scorches-6300-acres-south-central-oregon-fire-management-partnership-lightning-natural-prescribed-burns |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=KTVL |language=en}} and was the 11th-largest as of August 2.

Progression

The fire was first reported at around 6:00 p.m. on April 20.{{Cite web |date=2024-08-02 |title={{!}} InciWeb |url=http://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/orfwf-little-yamsay-fire |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=inciweb.wildfire.gov |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Lund |first=Isabela |date=2024-07-03 |title=Smoke visible due to Little Yamsay Fire |url=https://www.kdrv.com/news/firewatch/smoke-visible-due-to-little-yamsay-fire/article_900c981c-097d-11ef-a42d-8f6c16168ddd.html |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=NewsWatch 12 KDRV |language=en}} The fire slowly grew in acreage until May 1, where it reached a size of 240 acres. 100 personnel were assigned to the fire.{{Cite web |date=2024-08-02 |title=Single Publication {{!}} InciWeb |url=http://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-publication/orfwf-little-yamsay-fire/little-yamsay-fire-update-may-1%2C-2024-05-02-2024 |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=inciweb.wildfire.gov |language=en}} It was determined that the fire should be let spread, as to break up toe landscape and prevent against catastrophic wildfires in the future. On May 2, the fire was allowed to cover an additional 365 acres as part of this plan.{{Cite web |date=2024-08-02 |title=Single Publication {{!}} InciWeb |url=http://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-publication/orfwf-little-yamsay-fire/little-yamsay-fire-update-may-2%2C-2024-05-02-2024 |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=inciweb.wildfire.gov |language=en}} By May 3, the fire had again grown to 633 acres while under supervision from 120 personnel.{{Cite web |date=2024-08-02 |title=Single Publication {{!}} InciWeb |url=http://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-publication/orfwf-little-yamsay-fire/little-yamsay-fire-update-may-3%2C-2024-05-03-2024 |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=inciweb.wildfire.gov |language=en}}

On May 4, the fire rapidly grew in size, covering 1,350 acres of land and brush.{{Cite web |date=2024-08-02 |title=Single Publication {{!}} InciWeb |url=http://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-publication/orfwf-little-yamsay-fire/little-yamsay-fire-update-may-4%2C-2024-05-04-2024 |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=inciweb.wildfire.gov |language=en}} By 9:58 a.m. on May 5, the fire had reached an acreage of 2,009.{{Cite web |date=2024-08-02 |title=Single Publication {{!}} InciWeb |url=http://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-publication/orfwf-little-yamsay-fire/little-yamsay-fire-update-may-5%2C-2024-05-05-2024 |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=inciweb.wildfire.gov |language=en}} A large tree unrelated to the fire fell on a firefighting cab that was en route, and none of the four passengers sustained injuries.{{Cite web |date=2024-05-06 |title=Tree Falls Striking OR Firefighting Vehicle at Little Yamsay Fire |url=https://www.fireapparatusmagazine.com/fire-apparatus/tree-falls-striking-or-firefighting-vehicle-on-little-yamsay-fire/ |access-date=2024-08-03 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Newsroom |date=2024-05-06 |title=Tree falls on emergency firefighting vehicle on Little Yamsay Fire |url=https://kobi5.com/news/tree-falls-on-emergency-firefighting-vehicle-on-little-yamsay-fire-227628/ |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=KOBI-TV NBC5 / KOTI-TV NBC2 |language=en-US}} On May 6, the number of personnel assigned to the fire dropped to 92.{{Cite web |date=2024-08-02 |title=Single Publication {{!}} InciWeb |url=http://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-publication/orfwf-little-yamsay-fire/little-yamsay-fire-update-may-6%2C-2024-05-06-2024 |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=inciweb.wildfire.gov |language=en}}

On May 7, the fire was determined to be 15 miles southeast of Chemult, and remained at a constant 2,009 acres.{{Cite web |date=2024-08-02 |title=Single Publication {{!}} InciWeb |url=http://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-publication/orfwf-little-yamsay-fire/little-yamsay-fire-update-may-7%2C-2024-05-07-2024 |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=inciweb.wildfire.gov |language=en}} In the morning hours of May 8, the number of personnel assigned to the fire again dropped to 91,{{Cite web |date=2024-08-02 |title=Single Publication {{!}} InciWeb |url=http://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-publication/orfwf-little-yamsay-fire/little-yamsay-fire-update-may-8%2C-2024-05-08-2024 |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=inciweb.wildfire.gov |language=en}} and on May 9 the fire was purposefully let grow to 2,200 acres.{{Cite web |date=2024-08-02 |title=Single Publication {{!}} InciWeb |url=http://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-publication/orfwf-little-yamsay-fire/little-yamsay-fire-update-may-9%2C-2024-05-09-2024 |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=inciweb.wildfire.gov |language=en}} On May 10, the fire reached 3,200 acres in size, and the firing operation continued with 106 personnel assigned to the fire.{{Cite web |date=2024-08-02 |title=Single Publication {{!}} InciWeb |url=http://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-publication/orfwf-little-yamsay-fire/little-yamsay-fire-update-may-10%2C-2024-05-10-2024 |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=inciweb.wildfire.gov |language=en}}

By May 11, the fire reached 3,278 acres in size, and there were no evacuations.{{Cite web |date=2024-08-02 |title=Single Publication {{!}} InciWeb |url=http://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-publication/orfwf-little-yamsay-fire/little-yamsay-fire-update-may-11%2C-2024-05-11-2024 |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=inciweb.wildfire.gov |language=en}} By May 12, the fire reached 4,791 acres in size,{{Cite web |date=2024-08-02 |title=Single Publication {{!}} InciWeb |url=http://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-publication/orfwf-little-yamsay-fire/little-yamsay-fire-update-may-12%2C-2024-05-12-2024 |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=inciweb.wildfire.gov |language=en}} and by 9:05 a.m. on May 13 this number went up to 6,340.{{Cite web |last=King |first=Jenna |date=2024-05-14 |title=Little Yamsay Fire continues to burn in Chemult |url=https://kobi5.com/news/local-news/little-yamsay-fire-continues-to-burn-in-chemult-228364/ |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=KOBI-TV NBC5 / KOTI-TV NBC2 |language=en-US}} The fire was considered 100% contained on the same day.{{Cite web |date=2024-08-02 |title=Single Publication {{!}} InciWeb |url=http://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-publication/orfwf-little-yamsay-fire/little-yamsay-fire-update-may-13%2C-2024-05-13-2024 |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=inciweb.wildfire.gov |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Tennessean |first=The |title=Little Yamsay - Wildfire and Smoke Map |url=https://data.tennessean.com/fires/little-yamsay/c4391e53-dd45-47f9-8098-c6083ccb8fe3/ |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=The Tennessean |language=en}}

Usage by firefighters

The fire was allowed to grow in 3 phases (Phase I, Phase II and Phase III) and was purposefully ignited further during Phase II to reduce small and crowded ground foliage, including bushes and shrubs, that could potentially create a large and potentially catastrophic wildfire in the future.{{Cite web |last=Reporter |first=Brooke Snavely |date=2024-05-01 |title=Lightning-caused wildfire south of Bend encouraged to grow |url=https://www.centraloregondaily.com/news/regional/lightning-caused-fire-is-encouraged-to-burn/article_06efc4b4-081a-11ef-875c-5bb0a3fadcba.html |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=Central Oregon Daily |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=O'Brien |first=Molly |date=2024-05-06 |title=Lucky strike: Lightning ignites Little Yamsay Fire, sparks hope for future management |url=https://www.heraldandnews.com/freeaccess/lucky-strike-lightning-ignites-little-yamsay-fire-sparks-hope-for-future-management/article_7dcf7538-0bcc-11ef-aa52-83679f08df45.html |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=Herald and News |language=en}}

See also

References