W.I.S.E. Fire Tracking

Hell’s 1/2 Saddle WFU Fire

Location: 24 miles SW of Darby, MT

Specific Location: Bitterroot NF, Lat 45° 41´ 18″ Lon 114° 36´ 46″

Date of Origin: 06/12/2008
Cause: lightning

Situation as of 08/23/08 3:30 PM
Total Personnel: 0
Size: 1,750 acres
Percent Contained: 0%
Maximum fire area desired: 4,000,000 acres

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Situation as of 08/19/08 5:00 PM
Total Personnel: 0
Size: 1,100 acres
Percent Contained: 0%
Maximum fire area desired: 4,000,000 acres

Costs to Date: $25,000

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Situation as of 08/13/08 2:00 PM
Total Personnel: 2
Size: 715 acres
Percent Contained: 0%
Maximum fire area desired: 4,000,000 acres

Smoldering and creeping with some active surface fire. Limited single tree and group torching.

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Situation as of 08/06/08 5:30 PM
Total Personnel: 5
Size: 660 acres
Percent Contained: 0%
Maximum fire area desired: 4,000,000 acres

Costs to Date: $15,000 reported.

Active surface fire with crowning runs. Planned actions: none.

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Situation as of 08/01/08 2:00 PM
Total Personnel: 5
Size: 300 acres
Percent Contained: 0%

Costs to Date: $15,100

Closed Hells Half Road #224. Small pockets of group torching and isolated crown fire runs (three separate 10-15 acre runs).

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Situation as of 07/24/08 9:00 AM

No update. Fire not reported on InciWeb.

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Situation as of 07/22/08 2:30 PM
Total Personnel: 2
Size: 235 acres
Percent Contained: 0%

Costs to Date: $15,000

Maximum fire area desired: 4,000,000 acres

Mentioned for the first time this AM in the NORTHERN ROCKIES GEOGRAPHIC AREA MORNING REPORT.

Please call George Weldon, U.S. Forest Service Fire and Aviation Management, Missoula, MT at 406-329-3296 for more information regarding this fire or any fire in the Northern Rocky Mountains.

Wood Hump WFU Fire

Location: 30 miles SW of Darby, MT

Specific Location: Bitterroot NF, Lat 45° 32´ 43″ Lon 114° 40´ 57″

Date of Origin: 07/18/2008
Cause: lightning

As of 08/22/2008 see Border Complex WFU Fires [here]

Situation as of 08/19/08 6:00 PM
Total Personnel: 0
Size: 2,212
Percent Contained: 0%

Maximum desired fire size (MMA): 106,000 acs

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Situation as of 08/18/08 4:00 PM
Total Personnel: not reported
Size: not reported
Percent Contained: 0%

Maximum desired fire size (MMA): 106,000 acs

Extreme fire behavior, has moved onto the Salmon-Challis Nat’l Forest.

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Situation as of 08/13/08 2:00 PM
Total Personnel: 3
Size: 2,200 acres
Percent Contained: 0%

Lots of surface fire in the dead and down. Some short to moderate crown runs in green trees.

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Situation as of 08/06/08 4:00 PM
Total Personnel: 1
Size: 1,000 acres
Percent Contained: 0%

Yesterdays [sic] the fire spread moved to the Southeast towards BRF/SCF boundry [sic]. Both forest [sic] are cooridnating [sic] mangement [sic] efforts.[sic]

Evidently it takes the entire staff of both forests to write two mangled sentences. Or possibly the combined Public Affairs personnel of Region 1 jointly issued the statement.

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Situation as of 08/01/08 2:00 PM
Total Personnel: 1
Size: 195 acres
Percent Contained: 0%

Fire will be monitored by Hell Half L/O and air when needed.

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Situation as of 07/24/08 9:00 AM

No update. Fire not reported on InciWeb.

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Situation as of 07/22/08 2:00 PM
Total Personnel: 1
Size: 195 acres
Percent Contained: 0%

Costs to Date: not reported

Maximum fire area desired: 4,000,000 acres

Mentioned for the first time this AM in the NORTHERN ROCKIES GEOGRAPHIC AREA MORNING REPORT.

Please call George Weldon, U.S. Forest Service Fire and Aviation Management, Missoula, MT at 406-329-3296 for more information regarding this fire or any fire in the Northern Rocky Mountains.

Rush Creek Fire

Location: 20 miles E of Yellow Pine, Valley Co., ID

Specific Location: Payette NF, Rainbow Peak area, Lat 44° 59´ 10″ Lon 114° 59´ 17″

Date of Origin: 07/15/2008
Cause: unknown

Situation as of 08/14/08 11:30 AM

The Rush Creek Fire has been declared a part of the Westy WFU Fire [here]

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Situation as of 08/06/08 4:45 PM
Total Personnel: 3
Size: 1,435 acres
Containment: 0%

Est date of containment: 10/15/2008

Overhead Team Name: Rod Dines. McCoy is ICT3. Payette Fire Manager is Sam Hescock. It is unclear whether any of these individuals are anywhere near the fire. Planned actions are to monitor by air.

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Situation as of 08/02/08 4:45 PM
Total Personnel: 3
Size: 1,415 acres
Containment: 0%

This fire is a non-suppression suppression fire. The Payette NF does not want to use the designation “WFU” because of it’s association with Let It Burn. So they call fires like the Rush Creek Fire “suppression” fires even though there is zero effort expended to contain or control them. In this manner they can claim that suppression fires overwhelmed their capabilities, which is partially true, since their capabilities are nil.

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Situation as of 07/31/08 5:30 PM
Total Personnel: 2
Size: 350 acres
Containment: 0%

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Situation as of 07/30/08 7:00 PM
Total Personnel: 1
Size: 225 acres
Containment: 0%

Est date of containment: 10/15/08
Costs to date: not reported

Overhead Team Name: Sam Hescock

Fire was quiet with just a couple of smokes for the past week, but today fire activity picked up. Active ground fire on the southern flank with individual torching.

Planned Actions: none

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Situation as of 07/29/08 9:00 AM
Total Personnel: not reported
Size: not reported
Maximum Manageable Area: not reported
Est date of containment: 10/15/08
Costs to date: not reported

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Situation as of 07/23/08 9:00 AM
Total Personnel: not reported
Size: not reported
Maximum Manageable Area: not reported
Est date of containment: not reported
Costs to date: not reported

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Situation as of 07/22/08 6:00 AM
Total Personnel: 0
Size: 200 acres
Percent Contained: 0%

This may seem like an innocuous fire, but last year the Payette NF decided to let innocuous fires burn until 800,000 acres were incinerated.

No staffing on the Rush Creek Fire, no attempt to contain, control, or extinguish. Burn, baby, burn is business as usual on the radical and lawless Payette. This blurb was spit up on the Payette NF website:

McCall, ID (July 18, 2008) – The Krassel Ranger District is currently managing the 30 [sic] acre Rush Creek Fire in the Frank Church – River of No Return Wilderness. The fire is located in the Rush Creek area near Shellrock Creek in a remote area characterized by steep slopes and rocky terrain and is not threatening property or people [just forests, wildlife, watershed, and other resource values].

The cause of the fire is unknown [not a clue]. It began on July 15 and is burning in heavy timber [read forest]. Currently, the fire is staying on the ground and moving slowly through the forest [until it blew up to 200 acres and is rapidly growing]. The fire was at 20 acres when it was discovered and grew to an estimated 30-40 acres, due in part to an increase in wind [and thar she blows. Whoopsie daisy, another bonehead bad fire behavior prediction]. Thunderstorms are expected to bring wind and rain today and tomorrow but temperatures are predicted to bring hotter and drier conditions over the weekend.

The fire is being closely monitored via over flights by fire staff [no firefighter is going near it]. Fire Management Staff and Forest leadership are monitoring the fire’s progression and will implement point protection if values become threatened [that would be never, since the Payette has no values]. Fire behavior modeling is also being utilized to help predict the progression and spread of the fire across the landscape [even though the models are funky and wrong].

The Rush Creek Fire is being managed and not immediately suppressed because of its location, the potential for resource benefits associated with fire and the lack of any threat to people or property [WHAT GODDAMN RESOURCE BENEFITS????????????????]. Not suppressing the fire also does not put firefighters at risk unnecessarily [just the forests, wildlife, watersheds, etc.] Firefighter and public safety are priorities as fire managers consider the array of fire management tools available to them.

This pro-holocauster government babble and horrific abrogation of responsibility is likely to lead to another megafire at the cost of tens of $millions and damages in the hundreds of $millions. They got away with it last year (no Payette person was prosecuted or jailed for burning 1,250 square miles of public forest).

Please call the Payette National Forest at (208) 634-0700 to express your displeasure.

Jersey 2 Fire

Location: 22 miles N of Madras, OR

Specific Location: South Junction Road. Lat 44° 53´ 36″ Lon 121° 3´ 40″

Date of Origin: 07/19/2008
Cause: under investigation

Situation as of 07/20/08 6:00 PM
Total Personnel: 27
Size: 429 acres
Percent Contained: 100%

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Situation as of 07/20/08 9:00 AM
Total Personnel: not reported
Size: 429 acres
Percent Contained: 0%

CA Fire Map Friday 07/18 AM

Click map for larger image (3.2 MB)

California Summary 07/18/08

Total Fires at Peak: 2,093
Total Fires Contained: 2,055
Total Active Fires: 38
Total Acres Burned: 907,568 (1,418 sq miles)

These numbers are total fires and acres that have occurred from state, local and federal firefighting agencies beginning June 20, 2008.

Highway closures: Travel on state highways, county and local roads remains restricted throughout California due to wildfire and flood activities. All major roads are now open with delays on State Highways 32, 70 and 299. Travelers are advised to seek current information on secondary road closures from local law enforcement.

Evacuations:Areas of Monterey, Shasta and Trinity counties are under evacuation orders at this time. Precautionary evacuation orders currently exist in areas in Kern (flash flooding), Shasta and Trinity counties. Residents are advised to monitor their local fire situation, check with local law enforcement agencies for information, and be prepared to evacuate when necessary.

Structures Destroyed : 102 residences, 1 commercial, 138 outbuildings.

About W.I.S.E. Fire Tracking

This Spring W.I.S.E. initiated THIS Fire Tracking site. We have been endeavoring to track the larger fires in the West. So far we have tracked over 110 fires, many still active.

The way W.I.S.E. Fire Tracking works is that each fire (that we choose to track) gets it’s own post. That post is updated periodically. We try to update on a daily basis while the fire is active, but some days the information is not available.

If a fire you are interested in is not on the main page (it only holds 15 posts), then there are a few ways you can find it. First, try typing the name of the fire in the search applet in the upper righthand sidebar. Second, you can click on the “state” category if you know what state the fire is in. Third, if you know what month the fire started, you can look in the archives under that month.

For each fire we are attempting to post daily stats for acreage, personnel, percent containment, and suppression costs to date. That way each post becomes a historical record for that fire. You can see how the fire grew day by day, along with the changes in the other stats. That’s something InciWeb doesn’t do.

W.I.S.E. Fire Tracking is in blog form, designed for feedback. People on the scene, or anywhere else for that matter, can contribute information, photos, or ask questions. It’s a two-way communication, something else InciWeb does not do.

W.I.S.E. Fire Tracking is free. It costs the taxpayers nothing. That’s definitely not the case with InciWeb. Your donations are sincerely appreciated, in any case.

Unlike other fire sites, W.I.S.E. Fire Tracking is not designed by and for firefighters. Our expertise and concern is about forests and other landscape types, and so we can provide indepth analysis regarding the effects of a particular fire on multiple forest values and resources. By collecting and posting the daily record for each fire, we are establishing the basic information needed to analyze fire effects.

InciWeb, the government fire reporting site, has been up and down this year. Right now it is functional again. If the InciWebbers show they can report fires consistently and without server glitches, we may pick and choose which fires we track more selectively. Our intention was never to compete with InciWeb or supplant them. We only provided a comprehensive fire reporting service because we thought such was needed during their long absence.

Due to the workload involved with W.I.S.E. Fire Tracking, the other subsites at W.I.S.E. have been neglected. Sorry about that. Hopefully in a week or two the fire season will calm down a bit and the other subsites will get more attention.

In that regard, if you feel like reviewing a new book or paper of exceptional quality and cutting-edge, new paradigm thinking in the environmental sciences, please do so. We are always happy to post contributions from the experts.

For those select few among you to whom we have promised specific projects, please bear with us. We have not forgotten. The list is still right here on the W.I.S.E. bulletin board. Your project is circled in red. We will get to it when we can and eventually for sure.

Please take some time to explore W.I.S.E. Fire Tracking. There is a wealth of information being collected there. Sometimes you may need to read between the lines because the whole truth is only hinted at. Your analysis of specific fires is also welcome, as are your photos, maps, and on-the-ground observations.

Please Donate to the Cause

W.I.S.E. is non-profit. Heck, we’re damn near non-income. But we are endeavoring against all odds to save forests and spread good information and knowledge about stewardship of our forests and landscapes.

We’re trying to save forests. We’re trying to stop or reduce the megafires that are ravaging our forests. We’re trying to make this planet a more habitable place for all life forms.

To that end we have created and are managing 12 websites. Our most recent site, W.I.S.E. Fire Tracking, is building records of the major fires burning this year, so that we can evaluate those fires after the season is over and seek ways to lessen the destruction.

We have not shirked from controversy. We have pushed the envelope. We have berated the Powers That Be for their incompetence and misguided policies that destroy forests, both public and private, and incinerate homes, farms, and ranches, and pollute the air and water, and cripple economies, and drain the Treasury.

We have endeavored to post the best, most cutting edge science, so that visitors can learn the facts for a change instead being pepper sprayed with rude and a-scientific propaganda all the time. We are a beacon, a light in the smoky darkness of a thousand forest fires burning at once.

W.I.S.E. is free. Our sites are open to all, free of charge, without a fee, buy in, ticket charge, or gate receipt.

But it is not free to do all this work. It is time consuming. Moreover, the expertise displayed here is the result of hundreds of years of combined professional effort. All of the experts published at W.I.S.E. have contributed their knowledge for free, and we are deeply grateful, but we also recognize that their expertise is hard won and represents lifetimes of dedication.

Your financial contributions are also deeply appreciated. We share this wonderful letter we received today, with gratitude:

Dear Mike,

Enclosed please find a check in the amount of $200. I hope it will help to keep your great sites going and allow you to continue to share wisdom and expertise.

As I promised myself, “a dollar a day” contribution will hopefully assist this endeavor to spread the word about forest health in particular and the rational study of the environment in general.
Randy

We send Randy a big Thank You. He would never admit it, but he is a victim of excruciatingly bad forest policies. His home and landscape are under tremendous threat. His area has been visited by fire storms emanating from mis-managed federal forests and hundreds of his neighbors’ homes have been incinerated by those fire storms. There is little he can do to change those terrible policies on his own.

But W.I.S.E. is attempting to do just that. We want to save rural homes from predicted, preventable fires. We desire to save the taxpayers $billions in emergency fire costs by encouraging the application of restoration forestry to millions of acres, thereby rendering forest safe and resilient to fire and far less prone to catastrophic destruction by holocaust. We wish to protect, maintain, and perpetuate forests, wildlife habitat, watersheds, airsheds, recreation opportunities, and all the other amenities and values that forests provide us. We are deeply cognizant of the heritage of our landscapes, and promote the respect and restoration that our heritage deserves.

That is our quest. Little by little we are having an effect. Top policy makers are reading our sites. The pendulum is being swung, the elephant is slowly moving.

Your contributions make it possible for W.I.S.E. to pursue this quest. Our budget is threadbare. We can barely pay our monthly Internet fees. But with your help we will persevere.

Your contributions are tax deductible. The Western Institute for Study of the Environment is a 501(c)(3) non-profit collaboration of environmental scientists, practitioners, and the interested public.

W.I.S.E. provides a free, on-line set of post-graduate courses in environmental studies, currently fifty Topics in eight Colloquia, each containing book and article reviews, original papers, and essays. In addition, we present two Commentary sub-sites, a news clipping sub-site, and the W.I.S.E. Fire Tracking site.

Our mission is to further advancements in knowledge and environmental stewardship across a spectrum of related environmental disciplines and professions. We teach and advocate good stewardship and caring for the land.

Please help us out. Please visit our donations page [here].

Thank you.

243 Fire

Location: 12 miles E of Desert Aire, Grant Co. WA

Specific Location: Saddle Mtn. Nat’l. Wildlife Refuge, Lat 46° 39´ 0″ Lon 119° 45´ 0″

Date of Origin: 07/14/2008
Cause: human

Situation as of 07/18/08 8:00 AM
Total Personnel: not reported
Size: 1,384 acres
Percent Contained: 100%

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Situation as of 07/14/08 8:00 PM
Total Personnel: 101
Size: 1,800 acres
Percent Contained: 80%

No further growth expected. Fire across the Columbia River from Hanford Nuclear site.

Red Flag Warning in effect until 10 pm PDT Wednesday for winds and low humidities. Eastern WA and OR. West winds 6 to 11 mph increasing to NW 12 to 19 mph in the afternoon. In the eastern Columbia River Gorge west winds 7 to 12 mph increasing to 15 to 22 mph in the afternoon. Gusts to 35 mph.

Willow Creek Fire

Location: ~5 miles SE of Soap Lake, ~10 miles N of Moses Lake, Grant Co. WA

Specific Location: Willow Lake area, North Columbia Basin Wildlife Area, Lat 47° 19´ 32″ Lon 119° 25´ 35″

Date of Origin: 07/13/2008
Cause: under investigation

Situation as of 07/14/08 7:00 AM
Total Personnel: 70
Size: 3,600 acres
Percent Contained: 60%

Fire in grass with no further growth expected.

Red Flag Warning in effect until 10 pm PDT Wednesday for winds and low humidities. Eastern WA and OR. West winds 6 to 11 mph increasing to NW 12 to 19 mph in the afternoon. In the eastern Columbia River Gorge west winds 7 to 12 mph increasing to 15 to 22 mph in the afternoon. Gusts to 35 mph.

CA Fire Map Monday 07/14 AM

Click map for larger image.

California Summary 07/14/08

Total Fires at Peak: 1,781
Total Fires Contained: 1,493*
Total Active Fires: 288*
Total Acres Burned: 839,343 (1,311 sq miles)

These numbers are total fires and acres that have occurred from state, local and federal firefighting agencies beginning June 20, 2008.

* Numbers reflect data as of 7/13 at 7:30 a.m.

Highway closures: State highways, county and local roads are closed throughout California due to wildfire activities. Closures and delays remain in place for State Highways 32, 70, 199 (delays) and 299 (delays). Travelers are advised to seek current information from local law enforcement.

Evacuations:Areas of Kern, Monterey, Shasta, and Trinity counties are under evacuation orders at this time. Precautionary evacuation orders currently exist in areas in Butte, Kern, Mendocino, Monterey, Plumas, Siskiyou, Shasta, and Trinity counties. Residents are advised to monitor their local fire situation, check with local law enforcement agencies for information, and be prepared to evacuate when necessary.

Structures Destroyed : 100 residences, 1 commercial, 127 outbuildings

Note the fires in the NW corner of the state. Expect those to grow to a total of over 500,000 acres by the end of October. Few firefighting resources are engaged, and Long Range Contingency Plans are already in place for Let It Burn actions.

Note also that firefighters on the Soda Complex are being harassed by residents. Law Enforcement personnel have been requested to permit fire suppression operations to continue.

Wilmont Fire

Location: 15 miles SSW of Inchelium, Ferry Co. WA

Specific Location: Wilmont Creek area, Colville Indian Res., Lat 48° 5´ 0″ Lon 118° 19´ 25″

Date of Origin: 07/13/2008
Cause: human

Situation as of 07/13/08 9:00 PM
Total Personnel: 49
Size: 100 acres
Percent Contained: 0%

Complexed with Abraham Fire, see [here].

Cold Springs Fire (with Badger Fire)

Location: 10 miles N of Trout Lake, Yakima Co., WA

Specific Location: Cold Springs, Mt. Adams area, Lat 46° 7´ 18″ Lon 121° 29´ 55″

Date of Origin: 07/13/2008
Cause: lightning, “sleeper” delayed ignition from week-old strike

Situation as of 07/29/08 4:30 PM
Total Personnel: 225
Size: 7,729 acres
Percent Contained: 98%

Costs to Date: $9,432,795

Heavy fuels continue to burn and smolder in the interior. No expected growth over the next 12-24 hours.

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Situation as of 07/27/08 5:00 PM
Total Personnel: 225
Size: 7,729 acres
Percent Contained: 98%

Costs to Date: $9,153,436

Acreage by ownership: Yakama Indian Reservation - 1,623 ac; Gifford Pinchot NF - 4,723 ac; Hancock Forest Management - 307 ac; Washington DNR - 1,076 ac.

Continue aggressive mop-up and cold trail of perimeter. Back haul equipment. Make preparations for rehabilitation.

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Situation as of 07/24/08 9:00 AM
Total Personnel: 948
Size: 7,980 acres
Percent Contained: 98%

Costs to Date: not reported, est. $8 million

On Friday, July 25, 2008, the Central Oregon Incident Management Team, led by IC Mark Rapp, will transfer command of the Cold Spring, Sheep Lake, and Big Lava Fire to a Type III Incident Management Team lead by IC Alan Lawson. The Big Lava Fire is on patrol status. The Sheep Lake Fire is being monitored by air.

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Situation as of 07/22/08 3:30 PM
Total Personnel: 1,042
Size: 7,980 acres
Percent Contained: 90%

Costs to Date: $7,523,887

One helicopter and reassigned two Type 1 crews from the Cold Springs Fire supported initial attack on a new fire start, the Badger Fire, on the Mt. Hood National Forest.

The Badger Fire is 15 acres and was contained last night around midnight. Location not reported.

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Situation as of 07/20/08 5:00 PM
Total Personnel: 1,096
Size: 7,980 acres
Percent Contained: 75%

Costs to Date: $5,237,455 (not updated)

Burnout of interior islands continue in Division E. Crews made good progress in all Divisions to meet mop-up objectives. Supported initial attack on two new starts on the Mt. Adams R.D. Four rappellers were used for initial attack on the Sheep Lake Fire.

RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 5 PM PDT TUESDAY FOR ABUNDANT LIGHTNING ACROSS CRITICALLY DRY FUELS FOR FIRE. STORMS WILL CONTINUE OVERNIGHT AND THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON AS THEY PROGRESS TOWARD NORTHEAST OREGON. SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY PRODUCE STRONG OUTFLOW WINDS.

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Situation as of 07/19/08 4:00 PM
Total Personnel: 1,128
Size: 7,956 acres
Percent Contained: 60%

Costs to Date: $5,237,455

Acres by ownership: Yakama Indian Reservation - 1,529. Hancock Forest Management - 643. Washington DNR - 1,104. Mt. Adams RD, Gifford Pinchot NF - 4,670.

Burnout of interior islands was completed in Division C and initiated in Division E. There was no perimeter growth in the last operational period so acres burned remain at 7,956. Occasional torching, short range spotting, some located N of fire line, some created from original 7/13 burn period.

A Long-Term Assessment Team was assigned to the incident to develop a plan to manage the fire through the remainder of the summer.

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Situation as of 07/18/08 5:00 PM
Total Personnel: 1,086
Size: 7,956 acres
Percent Contained: 50%

Costs to Date: not reported, est $4.4 million

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Situation as of 07/17/08 5:00 PM
Total Personnel: 1,037
Size: 7,933 acres
Percent Contained: 30%

Costs to Date: $3,239,632

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Situation as of 07/16/08 5:00 PM
Total Personnel: 930
Size: 7,604 acres
Percent Contained: 18%

Costs to Date: $2,243,698

20 miles of line construction was completed. No significant fire growth despite high temps, low humidity, and strong Gorge winds. Active torching and spotting as interior fuels continued to burn throughout.

Briefing with Yakama Tribal counsel on 7/17. Community meeting held on 7/15 with
the community of Trout Lake. On-going communication with Yakama Tribe, Washington DNR,
and Hancock Forest Management.

Note: The CO2’s (Central Oregon Type II IIMT, Rapp) accomplished more in one day than many IMT’s fighting California fires have accomplished in a month. When a good team wants to contain a forest fire, they do so. When a poor team wants to milk a fire for weeks or even months on end, well, that apparently happens, too.

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Red Flag Weather Warning in effect until 10 PM PDT Wednesday. NW winds 11 to 18 mph with gusts to 35 mph, becoming west 5 to 10 mph after midnight. In the E Columbia River Gorge W winds 14 to 21 mph with gusts to 35 mph decreasing to 6 to 11 mph after midnight.

Situation as of 07/15/08 6:00 PM
Total Personnel: 518
Size: 7,160 acres
Percent Contained: 5%

Costs to Date: $1,210,301

Fire is moving E to NE with short range spotting, active torching, and runs of 1-2 miles.

Line building is in progress. Central OR Type 2 IMT (Rapp) assumed command of the incident on 7/14/2008 at 2000. On-going communications with Yakama Tribe, Washington DNR, and Hancock Forest Management.

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Situation as of 07/14/08 6:00 PM
Total Personnel: 335
Size: 8,000 acres
Percent Contained: 0%

Costs to Date: $200,000

Fire active throughout night with spread towards the Bird
Creek meadow area. Crews and dozers worked to secure private lands adjacent to Forest and Yakama Agency lands on 7/14. Burnout operations underway.

Red Flag Warning in effect until 10 pm PDT Wednesday for winds and low humidities. Eastern WA and OR. West winds 6 to 11 mph increasing to NW 12 to 19 mph in the afternoon. In the eastern Columbia River Gorge west winds 7 to 12 mph increasing to 15 to 22 mph in the afternoon. Gusts to 35 mph.

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Situation as of 07/13/08 9:00 PM
Total Personnel: 237
Size: 2,000+
Percent Contained: 0%

Evacuation of Climbers at Cold Spring Trailhead and Climbers on on Mt Adams. All Forest Roads closed east of Forest Road 25. All Trails on eastside of Mt. Adams closed at this time.

Central Oregon IMT2 (Rapp) ordered for 07/14/08.

Fire very active tonite making a major run to the east at 2100. Fire
spotting 1/2 mile out from main fire. torching of groups of trees.

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Situation as of 07/13/08 3:00 PM
Total Personnel: unknown
Size: ~100 acres (500+ acres at 6:00 PM)
Percent Contained: 0%

Two air tankers and a helicopter have been flown. Access closed to the Cold Springs South Climb trailhead and all hikers are being evacuated from the area. Large smoke plume visible for many miles. (217 registered climbers on Mt. Adams today. Autos parked at trailhead are at risk. USFS attempting to notify all climbers and have autos removed by Sunday evening.)

Note: Trout Lake is in Klickitat Co., but the fire (at this point) is in Yakima Co. on the Gifford Pinchot NF, not Yakima Indian Res., close to and possibly in the Mt. Adams Wilderness Area. Thick forest, much dead and down from various pathogens, heavy fuel loading.

Cold Creek Fire from upper Hood River Valley, 07/13/08. Photo courtesy John Marker.

French Valley Fire

Location: 7 miles SE of Omak, Okanogan Co., WA

Specific Location: French Valley, Colville Indian Res., Lat 48° 20´ 22″ Lon 119° 25´ 23″

Date of Origin: 07/10/2008
Cause: Unknown

Situation as of 07/15/08 3:00 PM
Total Personnel: 140
Size: 1,420 acres
Percent Contained: 100%

Costs to Date: $942,000

Fire remained within containment lines, crews burned out or isolated unburned fuels south end of fire, located and mopped up hot spots with IR. Increased acreage due to updated mapping.

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Situation as of 07/14/08 5:30 PM
Total Personnel: 268
Size: 1,366 acres
Percent Contained: 70%

Costs to Date: $725,000

Fire remained within containment lines, crews burned out or isolated unburned fuels south end of fire. Two hundred foot mop up all divisions. Palm IR on all divisions planned.

Red Flag Warning in effect until 10 pm PDT Wednesday for winds and low humidities. Eastern WA and OR. West winds 6 to 11 mph increasing to NW 12 to 19 mph in the afternoon. In the eastern Columbia River Gorge west winds 7 to 12 mph increasing to 15 to 22 mph in the afternoon. Gusts to 35 mph.

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Situation as of 07/13/08 5:00 PM
Total Personnel: 236
Size: 1,234 acres
Percent Contained: 55%

Costs to Date: $505,000

Handline completed across south end of fire at 1700 hours, but significant unburned fuels adjacent to trail requiring treatment today. Fire is carried by dead and down timber in the draws.

Division A is in patrol status, crews to mop up and burnout in Division B.

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Situation as of 07/12/08 8:00 AM
Total Personnel: 211
Size: 1,234 acres
Percent Contained: 50%

Grass fire moved into an old burn area with dead and down timber. Currently burning in pockets of heavy dead and down fuel.

Abraham Canyon Fire

Location: 5 miles NW of Inchelium, Ferry Co. WA

Specific Location: Abraham Canyon, Hall Creek, Rainy Ridge, Colville Indian Res., Lat 48° 23´ 14″ Lon 118° 17´ 47″

Date of Origin: 07/10/2008
Cause: human

Situation as of 07/15/08 4:00 PM
Total Personnel: 271 (Abraham 154, Wilmont 117)
Size: 526 acres (Abraham 372 acs, Wilmont 154 acs)
Percent Contained: 100%

Costs to Date: $745,000 (Abraham $640,000, Wilmont $105,000)

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Situation as of 07/14/08 5:30 PM
Total Personnel: 224
Size: 472 acres (Abraham 372 acs, Wilmont 100 acs)
Percent Contained: 95%

Wilmont and the Abraham Canyon Fires have been complexed and are now called the Inchelium Complex Fires. IMT assisting with initial attack on a new fire just south of Inchelium.

Red Flag Warning in effect until 10 pm PDT Wednesday for winds and low humidities. Eastern WA and OR. West winds 6 to 11 mph increasing to NW 12 to 19 mph in the afternoon. In the eastern Columbia River Gorge west winds 7 to 12 mph increasing to 15 to 22 mph in the afternoon. Gusts to 35 mph.

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Situation as of 07/13/08 4:00 PM
Total Personnel: 214
Size: 372 acres
Percent Contained: 85%

Costs to Date: $320,000

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Situation as of 07/12/08 4:00 PM
Total Personnel: 104
Size: 277 acres
Percent Contained: 40%

Critical resources identified are needed to quickly contain the fire before conditions change and the opportunity is lost. The fire is on steep, timbered ground where handcrews will be the most effective resource.

Jim Creek Fire

Location: 15 miles E of Roseburg, Douglas Co. WA

Specific Location: ~5 S of Glide, Little River area, Lat 43° 14´ 10″ Lon 123° 2´ 23″

Date of Origin: 07/11/2008
Cause: Unknown

Situation as of 07/13/08 9:00 AM
Total Personnel: 255
Size: 164 acres
Percent Contained: 20%

Fire is burning on lands protected by the Douglas County Fire Protection Association (Douglas FPA) with mutual assistance from Oregon Department of Forestry.

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Situation as of 07/12/08 1:00 PM
Total Personnel: 62
Size: 200 acres
Percent Contained: not reported