Two days of rain has probably gotten things under control, tho the hot spots will persist for a while. 

Wonder how 224 faired during this rain. 

On a side note regarding fire, back in 2007 my grandfather cleared his acreage off Redland Rd, and made a single large slash pile. We had to wait several months for fire season to end.

So come October, we ignite the brushy pile. It was 12-15 ft tall, probably 18 ft across. After it started to burn the needles and get going, it quickly became a raging inferno. We tried to dampen it with the 80 psi agricultural hoses, but it would vaporize the water before it even hit the coals. My grandfather grabbed the cabbed John deere and started dumping loads of dirt on it, all the while I'm holding onto the 1" diameter agriculture hose hosing the base. He eventually got it buried, we turned the sprinklers onto the hot dirt, and let them run til the following evening. 

Well the huge dirt pile didn't stop smoldering. So, we set the sprinklers back up and let em run for three more days. Guess what, the dirt was still fiery hot. So, we fixed a permanent agricultural sprinkler to hose it down for a half hour every three hours.

This was October. On New Year's Day, the pile of dirt was STILL SMOLDERING, even with an untold amount of gallons of water that had been sprayed on it, and rain on top of that. 

Remember November 2007? It poured buckets that month and flooded out the coast range. Our hot pile of dirt didn't die til after my birthday in February. 

It looks like they've released the results of the investigation as to what caused the fire.  Here's a quote from http://www.nwccinfo.blogspot.com/:

Investigators have determined that the 36 Pit Fire started as the result of bullet fragments igniting fine dry fuels at the origin area of the fire.  Investigators confirmed this finding with witness observations, fire progression maps, and physical evidence collected at the specific origin area.   The fire started in an area popular with target shooters.  Information gathered up to this point indicates that the fire was not intentionally caused and the 36 Pit was open to recreational target shooting at the time of the incident.

Although the Forest Service supports responsible target shooting, shooters should also be aware that bullets with steel components and solid copper jackets impacting rocks or metal have the potential to produce hot fragments which can readily cause a fire, given the right weather and fuel conditions.  For information about how rifle bullets can ignite a fire please visit the following website: http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_rp104.pdf .  This has been an extraordinarily hot and dry summer.   Shooters should be aware of this and ensure that they prepare accordingly.

Witness interviews are still being conducted. Anyone with information relevant to the investigation should contact Phil Huff at 503-668-1686.

The FS will probably add shooting activities to the list of things that will be restricted during red flag days, just like they shutdown logging operations or restrict them to early morning hours with a fire watch after operations had ceased for the day. Back in the 70's, when I was on a road crew that built logging roads for the FS, they called it "Hoot Owl" conditions. They called it that, because about the only thing you could hear at that time of day were the owls hooting. You started work at 4 am and worked until noon and was put on fire watch for a couple of hours to watch over the area that you had just worked in with chainsaws, cats, graders, or whatever.

I think the District needs to watch things a little closer. And learn from the past.

We often get several days of high pressure and desicating winds for several days at the end of Summer. The Bowl fire was similar conditions if I remember right. But the District has had several rangers and they aren't here long enough to learn the District.

I think the river with those conditions and heavy use needs additional restrictions when we get the late summer winds and heat and it is up to the Ranger to make the call.

When Oregon City was drinking from the South Fork, it was very tightly patrolled during such conditions.

Any of us who spend time up there know those late season east winds and what they can do.

D 2

Found a few interesting photos on the Mt Hood NF Facebook page today:

 I think those along the road were taken on road 45 just above the river - it looks familiar to me.  Looks like lots of slides and downed trees.  I kind of doubt they are going to re-open that road any time soon.

There was very little increase in the fire today and the Type 2 team was de-mobilized, which I think is a good sign that things are quieting down.  All evacuation orders have been lifted too, which says to me they are pretty confident the fire isn't going to grow much more.