NEW Update on the FIRE - Tuesday at 2:39 PM

I drove around on the access road a bit this morning to check out the situation. I was unable to drive downstream from Maupin along the river road. Just downstream of the Maupin City Park the BLM had posted a sign that said that the road was closed.

At 1:30 PM I drove down to the CIty Park and found that the road was open. I continued to drive down river and found that the road was open all the way to Sandy Beach and beyond and the smoke seems to be a bit more off in the distance. 

I met Alex down at the Sandy Beach and he was on his way to check out the dirt access road to see if they were allowing people down there yet. We found out that the lower access road is barricaded and closed all the way to Mack's Canyon. The BLM said that they are not fighting the fire down in the canyon - they are letting it burn and it could be "a while" before they allow any boats or anyone to drive down that road. 

So far the roads in and out of Maupin are all open (except for the gravel river access road going downstream just below Sherar's Falls - North). The air is full of huge airplanes and helicopters flying back and forth over Maupin on their way to refuel and refill the retardant. The sky is blue and the sun is shining brightly and there is very little wind right now. Tomorrow is supposed to be a little windier (10-15 mph) and that could cause the fire to grow a bit larger. The temperatures will be climbing into the 100s for the weekend, so this makes the fire danger worse.

I will update this blog if I hear of any other information about the fire or about the roads being reopened or staying closed.