A Type 2 team has taken control of the Cow Fire, seen here Aug. 20, burning 15 miles southeast of Prairie City.

At 6 a.m. Thursday, Northwest Interagency Incident Management Team 9, led by Incident Commander Brian Goff, took command of the 900-acre Cow Fire burning on the Malheur National Forest approximately 15 miles southeast of Prairie City.

The fire is threatening multiple resource values, including a historic cow camp and the Short Creek Guard Station, along with bull trout habitat, active grazing allotments and timber sales, according to a press release.

Lightning caused the fire Aug. 9. It is zero percent contained, and 220 people are assigned to the fire.

As the team transitions into place, the firefighting objectives are to scout the fire and surrounding terrain for locations favorable to containment and suppression, such as prior burn scars, dozer lines and natural terrain features. This will enable suppression of the fire and protection of values at risk while minimizing firefighter exposure. Structure protection of the historic cow camp and guard station are a high priority.

Firefighting resources assigned to the Cow Fire include two Type 1 Hotshot handcrews, five Type 2 handcrews, a Wildland Fire Module, a Type 2 dozer and a Type 1 helicopter.

Thursday is forecast to be clear and cooler, with highs in the low to mid-70s, minimum humidity around 21% and winds to 9 mph. A warming trend is predicted through the weekend.

To protect public and firefighter safety, a Closure Order is in effect for the vicinity of the Cow Fire and surrounding roads. Specifically, Forest Road 13 is closed from the junction of FR 16 to the junction of FR 13-600; FR 1665-548 and Horseshoe Trail are closed in their entirety. The Closure Order and more information can be viewed on the Cow Fire InciWeb site at http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6526.