The State of Washington

[NJFFSA16]

LINCOLN, Wash. (AP) - A fire on the Colville Indian Reservation,
called the Rattlesnake Canyon fire, swelled to 3,000 acres,
increasing its coverage area in northcentral Washington by nearly
50 percent over Saturday, fire officials said Sunday.
A smaller blaze, the Paddle fire, had consumed 700 acres on the
Spokane Indian Reservation to the east, and up north in the
Pasayten Wilderness, three fires covered a total of about 1,680
acres.
The Rattlesnake Canyon fire, on the north side of the Columbia
River, just across from the little town of Lincoln and west of the
Columbia's confluence with the Spokane River, was in a remote area
and not threatening homes, said Marc Hollen with the Northwest
Interagency Fire Coordination Center in Portland, Ore.
But he said it's going to take more than the 100 firefighters
on-site to take care of this one. The flames were devouring the
area's tinder-dry pine trees and sagebrush, Hollen said: "The
grasses give it speed and the pines give it intensity."
The very active fire was jumping lines built to contain it,
Carol Tocco of the center said Sunday night.
A multi-agency fire-management team took over the blaze Sunday
afternoon, working with anthropologists to ensure protection for
important tribal cultural sites in the area.
The cause of the fire, which began late Friday near the river,
was being investigated, Tocco said Sunday night.
"There was no lightning or anything of that nature," Hollen
said.
No containment date had been set, he said.
On the Spokane Indian Reservation, meanwhile - in the same area
but east of the Spokane River - the Paddle fire had scorched 700
acres by Sunday night. That blaze, which started Saturday, was not
burning as strongly as the one on the nearby Colville Rez, in part
due to wind and available fuels.
The fire, about 35 miles northwest of Spokane, apparently began
with fireworks shot off a boat in Lake Roosevelt, said Bureau of
Indian Affairs spokeswoman Ann Dahl in Wellpinit. The lake is a
long, deep stretch of the Columbia behind the Grand Coulee Dam.
Some area roads were closed Sunday and people have been asked to
leave the Pierre Campground, near where the fire began, Dahl said.
A multi-agency management crew was taking over that fight Sunday
evening. The Paddle fire was about 25 percent contained Saturday
but there was no updated figure available Sunday, and no word on
the amount of personnel on hand.
"The two fires can see each other's columns," Hollen said, and
crews on the Spokane Reservation fire thought their blaze looked
"pretty puny" compared to the larger conflagration to the west.
Meanwhile, farther north in the Methow Valley near Winthrop, the
Farewell Creek fire expanded about 100 acres overnight to 1,360
acres, said Nick Michel with the state Department of Natural
Resources.
It was the largest of three fires in that area, and containment
was zero, Michel said. Two smaller fires were contained. Tocco of
the interagency center said the 120-acre Fawn Peak blaze and the
200-acre Sweetgrass Fire were both contained Sunday.
Fresh crews were due to hit the Farewell Creek fire Sunday, he
said.
"We have about 800 people on all three fires, and a whole bunch
of equipment," he said.
Sunday marked the start of a ground assault on the Farewell
Creek fire, tackled only by air previously. Fire managers had
worked out a new strategy and about 200 incoming firefighters were
being directed to the blaze, along with bulldozers and other ground
equipment.
"This is the first day of a real ground assault on the Farewell
Creek Fire," Michel said.
The blaze is in rough, steep terrain and "it took time to find
a safe place to put firefighters on the ground," Hollen said.
---
On the Net:

https://www.or.blm.gov/nwcc

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

Reducing risks, Increasing concerns

WINTHROP, Wash. (AP) - A state official has cited the U.S.
Forest Service for excess smoke generated by a prescribed burn in
June, saying efforts to address health concerns about such smoke
through inter-agency meetings apparently got nowhere.
The June 18 notice of violation marked the first time the state
Ecology Department had cited the Forest Service for a planned burn.
Ecology can issue fines of up to $10,000 per day for violations,
but will not decide whether to impose a fine until after the Forest
Service responds to the notice.
Susan Billings, Ecology's air quality program manager in Yakima,
said her agency met with the U.S. Forest Service and state
Department of Natural Resources in February to discuss problems
with smoke in the Methow Valley last fall, when citizens complained
about the amount and duration of prescribed burning.
When a similar problem arose the very next spring, Billings
said, it was time to take action.
Billings said her agency is not opposed to prescribed burning
intended to thin forests and help prevent catastrophic wildfires.
But, she added, "What we expect is, when burning is used as a
tool, that it be conducted in a way that it doesn't affect public
health."
Billings said she wants to discuss whether the state's Smoke
Management Plan is being applied as written, and possible
revisions. A letter from her agency to the DNR that accompanied a
copy of the notice of violation suggests the plan isn't working as
well as it could.
Roger Autry, DNR's smoke and fuels management specialist, says
the plan works but that there will be occasions when the weather
doesn't perform as expected.
That's what happened June 4, he said, when he approved ignition
of part of the Cub Creek/Rendezvous prescribed burn north of
Winthrop - the fire that drew the citation.
Autry said he told the Forest Service it couldn't burn for at
least three or four days in a row before June 4, because the wind
would have pushed smoke down into the valley.
But because the inversion was expected to lift at 10 a.m. June
4, he told the federal agency it could proceed then with a
1,000-acre burn.
The inversion did not lift, however, and smoke was trapped in
the valley, prompting a flurry of complaints from residents.
DNR approval is based on other factors besides weather, Autry
said - the size of the burn area, the elevation, the type of
material being burned and the number of days the burn will take.
But because it's harder to predict the weather several days in
advance, larger, multi-day burns require more difficult decisions.
"The farther you go out in the forecast, the shakier the
information gets," he said.
Richy Harrod, fire ecologist for the Okanogan and Wenatchee
National Forests, said the National Fire Plan provides funds for
thinning and prescribed burning, especially near residential areas.
A combination of thinning and prescribed burns is often needed
to create a healthy forest that is less prone to catastrophic fire,
Harrod said. Between 10,000 and 12,000 acres are burned on the two
forests each year, he said, and 7,500 acres are non-commercially
thinned.
"We'll need at least four times, and maybe more, the number of
acres we're currently doing to reverse the trend," he said.
"That's a lot. More than we are capable of doing at current
funding or person-power."
The challenge will be to find a way to protect air quality as
such burns are increased, Harrod said.
"There's going to be more smoke associated with that," he
said. "It's a trade-off between severe, all-summer wildfires
versus having fire for short periods, where we can have control
over it."
Ecology spokeswoman Joye Redfield-Wilder said that's going to be
an issue for all communities that border national forests.
"If this is going to become a routine thing, it could be
they're going to be smoked out from April to November," she said.
The violation notice has already sparked interest around the
country, she said.
"The threat of wildfire is valid," she said. "However, all
ways of thinning the forest need to be considered."

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

July 9th

KELLER, Wash. (AP) - Clear skies brought warmer temperatures but
less wind Wednesday, helping firefighters battling the state's
largest wildfire.
The Rattlesnake Canyon fire on the Colville Indian Reservation
in northeast Washington was 50 percent contained Wednesday and did
not gain much ground during the day.
The fire has burned 10,600 acres. Three additional outbuildings
were burned Wednesday, for a total of 10 outbuildings and one
summer home lost to the fire, said Marc Hollen, a spokesman for the
Northwest Interagency Fire Coordination Center in Portland, Ore.
Ground crews aided by aircraft were trying to push the flames
toward the nearby Columbia River, fire information officer Troy
Kinghorn said.
More than 500 firefighters were working the blaze, Hollen said.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but
officials have said they believe fireworks are to blame.
Crews have built a fire line around a group of homes and the
flames have passed around them. Officials are currently expecting
lines to hold around another group of expensive homes in a
community known as Balcomville.
The fire has been burning since July 4, and officials said they
expect to have it contained by Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Paddle fire on the adjacent Spokane Indian
Reservation was 100 percent contained late Wednesday and an
evacuation readiness warning has been lifted. The fire burned 1,324
acres and was started by fireworks.
The remote Farewell Creek fire near the Pasayten Wilderness in
northcentral Washington continued to burn over roughly 1,600 acres.
There was no estimate of containment on that fire.
The Farewell Creek fire is burning in mostly wilderness
locations and is not threatening any structures.
There have been no injuries in any of the Washington fires.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

July 14th

YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) - A dangerous wildfire 20 miles west of here
held steady at about 2,000 acres on Monday and residents who had to
leave 20 homes last Friday were allowed to return, fire officials
said.
About 500 firefighters had contained some 30 percent of the
Middle Fork wildfire near Tampico, fire spokesman Dale Warriner
said. No structures have burned, he said.
The fire is burning in densely timbered slopes in the Cascade
Range. It is the most dangerous of several Washington state
wildfires that cover some 25,000 acres, officials said. No injuries
have been reported in any of the fires.
Residents of another 150 homes in the area remained on notice
that they might have to evacuate, Warriner said.
"There is still an active fire on the hill there," he said.
"We want to err on the side of caution."
Fifteen of 25 fire engines brought from other communities to
protect homes in the Tampico area will be released Tuesday morning,
Warriner said. Ten engines will remain to protect homes.
Warriner said there is some suspicion that fireworks started the
fire, but the cause has not been determined.
Elsewhere in Washington, the remote Farewell Creek fire near the
Pasayten Wilderness continued to burn Monday in the northcentral
part of the state, but firefighters were confident they would get
the upper hand.
The fire was 10 percent contained Monday afternoon and has
burned over 12,502 acres, Warriner said. No structures were
threatened and none had burned.
Crews spent much of Monday building more lines to prevent the
fire's spread to the east and northeast. Firefighters hope to
prevent the flames from crossing the Chewuch River on the east,
information officer Tom Knappenberger said.
"We're still pretty cautious because of the terrain and the
heat," Knappenberger said. "There's a lot of work to be done on
the fire yet."
The Rattlesnake Canyon fire on the Colville Indian Reservation
near Spokane was 90 percent contained Monday and crews were
demobilizing and heading out, said Troy Kinghorn, fire information
officer. That fire burned 10,600 acres and destroyed one summer
residence.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

July 16th

OKANOGAN, Wash. (AP) - Seven or eight homes burned Wednesday and
dozens more were threatened by a wildfire in this northcentral
Washington town, officials said.
The fire started behind Okanogan High School on Wednesday
afternoon and moved quickly up a hillside, said Okanogan County
Sheriff's Sgt. Jennifer Johnson.
"Every fire department in the county is on the scene or en
route," Johnson said.
There have been no injuries, she added.
Residents of dozens of homes were evacuated. The Red Cross set
up a shelter at the United Methodist Church downtown.
Mark Clemens of the state Emergency Operations Center in Olympia
said seven or eight homes had been destroyed, and the 150-acre fire
was threatening at least 30 other homes on a hillside above the
town of 2,000 people.
More than 125 firefighters and 45 engines and water tenders from
outside Okanogan County were dispatched to assist beleaguered local
firefighters, Clemens said. They included fire crews from the
Wenatchee and Tri-Cities areas.
An airplane from the Bureau of Indian Affairs was dropping fire
retardant around homes, Johnson said.
Okanogan is about 50 miles south of the Canadian border, far
from the state's population centers.
Residents on Wednesday night were asked not to use water to
preserve the resource for firefighters.
The cause of the fire was not known.
The fire started on a grassy hillside and moved quickly uphill
to a neighborhood of upscale homes overlooking the town, Deputy
City Clerk Betty Anderson said.
Sheriff Frank Rogers said firefighters were overwhelmed in the
opening minutes by the wind-whipped flames.
"We went to the top and it was within 10 minutes (of
starting)," Rogers said. "We were trying to protect the house,
and it went over our heads and onto the roof. It was just
incredible."
Sheriff's deputies pitched in to fight the fire.
"A lot of us have heat stroke right now," Rogers said.
"There are several rows of houses on a hill and it took them
down one at a time," said witness Brenda Crowell. "I've never
seen anything burn that fast."
The flames were not posing any danger to the downtown area,
Anderson said.
Elsewhere in Washington, the remote Farewell Creek fire near the
Pasayten Wilderness continued to burn, also in the northcentral
part of the state.
The lightning-caused fire was 35 percent contained Wednesday and
has burned over 15,750 acres, spokesman Mike Ferris said. No
structures were threatened and none had burned.
About 500 firefighters had contained about 70 percent of the
Middle Fork wildfire in the densely forested eastern slopes of the
Cascade Range near Tampico, west of Yakima, fire spokesman Dale
Warriner said. That fire has burned about 2,000 acres, but no
structures were destroyed.
Warriner said some believe fireworks started the Middle Fork
fire.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

July 17th

By CHRIS RODKEY
Associated Press Writer
OKANOGAN, Wash. (AP) - It was three weeks ago Thursday that
Jackie Bradley's husband, Bob, died of a heart attack on the front
lawn of their home.
Now that elegant house is a smoldering pile of ashes on a
hillside above the town of Okanogan.
Bradley's home and five others were destroyed when a wildfire
leaped through their neighborhood Wednesday afternoon. Fueled by
dry brush and gusting winds, the fire also seriously damaged two
other homes in this north-central Washington community of about
2,000 people, located 50 miles south of the Canadian border.
"We lived here 25 years," Bradley said, crying and embracing
her friends and neighbors Thursday morning. "This is where my
roots are."
No injuries were reported. Firefighters continued battling
flare-ups caused by 20 mph winds on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Washington, the remote Farewell Creek fire nearly
doubled in size overnight, to 31,971 acres, straying north into the
Pasayten Wilderness west of Okanogan.
The fire, started by lightning June 29, was 35 percent contained
Thursday despite the expansion, which was attributed to wind, dry
fuel conditions and steep country.
No structures were threatened by the Farewell Creek fire and
none has burned.
"When the wind pushed it, it raced up the hills ... and covered
a lot of ground," said Mike Ferris with the National Incident
Management Team.
Spokesman Steve Butterworth said earlier that firefighters were
limited in the tactics they can use in wilderness areas.
The 350-acre fire that burned the Okanogan homes was
human-caused, and Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers said
Thursday that officers were looking at a "person of interest." He
did not provide details.
Okanogan damage estimates will likely top $1 million.
Dozens of other houses were threatened before firefighters,
aided by aircraft dropping retardant, contained the fire Wednesday
evening, Rogers said.
When flames approached her home, Bradley grabbed what she could:
some pictures, four dresses, and the flag she received when her
husband, a former Marine, was buried. She also took her cat,
Powderpuff.
"It's been real hard for Jackie, but she has a lot of
support," said friend Lynette Grandy, who stayed by Bradley's
side.
Just down Crestview Drive, Richard Manning pulled in to his
driveway and saw his house for the first time since he left it when
it was burning.
When asked if he was able to save anything, he replied,
"nothing," and took a slow drink from a coffee mug donated by a
friend.
Manning hadn't rummaged through the rubble, waiting until his
wife, Elaine, could return from a trip to Seattle. But as he
gestured over the debris, he said, "Quite obviously there's going
to be nothing left."
Manning, a former school speech pathologist, built the house in
1972 and moved in with his wife, a retired school teacher.
"My son said he's lost all of his memories," Manning said.
"That's kind of hard to deal with."
Manning saw the flames start partway down the hill. He and his
son rushed to his neighbor's house, fearing the flames would hit
there first. But when he turned around, the flames were at his
doorstep.
"I opened the back door and the windows were shattering and the
glass was flying," he said. "There was no way to get in the
house."
The smoke had cleared and the sky was bright blue when Manning
returned to survey the damage Thursday.
"It's harder to deal with this morning than it was last
night," he said. "Now you've got to deal with reality."
Bob and Trish Butler looked at the remains of Gary and Barb
Christensen's house from their backyard. Flames had singed the
trees between the two properties.
"We were really worried," Trish Butler said. "Five more
minutes and we probably would have lost it."
The Christensens were on vacation when the fire hit. A neighbor
was able to save a cat from their house.
Butler said she and her husband will replace the cedar shake
roof that covered their home. Most of the homes burned in the blaze
had cedar shakes, which very quickly catch fire.
Another wildfire west of Yakima, the Middle Fork fire, has been
fully contained, spokeswoman Betty Blodgett said.
There were 463 firefighters still assigned to the 2,100-acre
blaze near Tampico on the eastern slopes of the Cascade Range, but
they will be released starting this weekend, she said. No
structures were destroyed. Officials have said fireworks are
suspected as the cause.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

7/20

CHENEY, Wash. (AP) - A new wildfire burned through about 1,000
acres of timber and grasslands Sunday in a rural area near here,
burning some buildings and forcing people to leave their homes.
About 15 to 20 homes were evacuated, said Fire Chief Bruce
Holloway of Spokane County Fire District 3.
Crews from around Spokane County were joined by state Department
of Natural Resources crews fighting the blaze. Holloway said some
structures had burned but he did not know whether they were houses
or outbuildings.
The fire was burning about five miles southwest of Cheney at the
intersection of Watt and Ritchey roads, he said. The cause of the
blaze was not known.
The Cheney fire was among several wildfires burning Sunday in
central and eastern Washington amid dry conditions. Temperatures
were in the 90s, and expected to reach as high as 103 degrees in
Eastern Washington on Monday and possibly up to 107 on Tuesday.
There were no reports of injuries in any of the fires.
North of Winthrop, the Farewell Creek fire - biggest in the
state - was estimated Sunday at 48,156 acres. The acreage was more
than 12,000 acres higher than previously reported because of better
mapping.
"They had just flown around it with a helicopter to do the best
they could," said Kris Eriksen, spokeswoman for the Farewell Creek
fire management team. "It's been growing over the last three days,
but we had only done fly-by estimates."
Nine homes south of the blaze were no longer threatened, since
the fire was burning north and northeast. Crews cleared brush and
burned fire lines around the homes several days ago, Eriksen said.
Firefighters wrapped three cabins in remote areas of the
Pasayten Wilderness with fire-proofing material, Eriksen said.
The fire was about 35 percent contained, burning in heavy timber
and sub-alpine fir. The southern flank of the fire was about 13
miles north of Winthrop. Its northern edge was about 8½ miles south
of the Canadian border. The fire was started by lightning June 29.
Northwest of Spokane, a fire on the Colville Indian Reservation
continued to threaten 37 homes Sunday evening. Seven of the homes
had been evacuated, said Mauragrace Healey of the Northwest
Interagency Fire Coordination Center in Portland, Ore.
The McGinnis Flats fire had burned 1,030 acres and was 40
percent contained, she said.
Ground crews were being assisted by retardant-dropping tankers
and helicopters as they fought the blaze in mixed timber and grass.
The fire, which had burned two outbuildings, was believed to be
human-caused, although it remained under investigation, Healey
said.
Firefighters had the 250-acre Elephant Head fire northwest of
Ellensburg fully contained, Healey said. It started Friday night,
and while the cause remained under investigation, it was suspicious
in origin, said Marc Hollen of the fire coordination agency.



(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

7/21

By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS
Associated Press Writer
Fire crews battling three wildfires in Eastern Washington braced
for temperatures expected to soar as high as 104.
Progress has been made on a wildfire west of Cheney, southwest
of Spokane. The Watt Road fire continued to threaten 36 structures,
but was 40 percent contained Monday night, said Josie Williams of
the Washington Incident Management Team.
It has destroyed 14 vehicles and seven outbuildings.
That fire, plus fires near Keller in northeast Washington and in
the Pasayten Wilderness along the Canadian border, had consumed
more than 50,000 acres and were being fought by more than 1,700
firefighters.
The largest blaze was the Farewell Creek fire, last estimated at
48,162 acres, burning virtually unchecked in the Pasayten
Wilderness. That fire grew Monday, enlarging mainly on the west
flank, but fire spokesmen said conditions were so smoky they would
have to wait for results of an infrared overflight to provide a new
acreage figure.
There have been no injuries or major property losses on any of
the fires.
For the 466 firefighters working the 1,700-acre McGinnis Flats
fire on the Colville Indian Reservation near Keller on Monday,
"staying hydrated is their main concern," said Noel Hardin, fire
spokesman.
The fire continued to threaten more than 30 homes, and had
destroyed two outbuildings. It also was 40 percent contained.
The Watt Road wildfire roared to life Sunday.
One of the vehicles it destroyed was a fire truck whose crew had
parked in what they thought was a safe place and headed toward the
fire,
A sudden shift in winds caused the flames to burn over the fire
truck on Sunday, destroying it, Williams said.
The Watt Road fire was downsized from 1,300 acres to 1,060 acres
Monday because of more accurate mapping, she said.
On the Farewell Creek fire, spokesman Steve Butterworth said,
"It's hot. It's dry and it's windy."
That fire was only about one-third contained by fire lines.
Farewell Creek fire commanders, who had been working from a base
near Winthrop, on Monday established a second command post near
Tonasket on the east side of the fire to open a second front,
Butterworth said.
That step was taken because "the fire is growing more complex
and large."
Butterworth urged anyone headed into the backcountry on the west
side of the fire to talk to local rangers for the most up-to-date
information. Fire officials were comfortable with the backcountry
closures they have in place on the east side, he said.
Even though more than 1,000 firefighters are on the blaze, the
primary effort has been from the air, he said. That's because there
are no roads or escape routes in the steep terrain of the
wilderness, he said.
David Widmark of the federal Interagency Coordination Center in
Portland, Ore., said a concern now is that the fire will burn
across the border into Canada.
Widmark said meetings were taking place to decide whether U.S.
or Canadian firefighters should take the lead in that event.
The fire is burning in heavy timber. The southern flank of the
fire was about 13 miles north of Winthrop on Monday. Its northern
edge was about 8 miles south of the Canadian border. The fire was
started by lightning on June 29.
The McGinnis Flats fire, which started July 18, was believed to
be human-caused. It remained under investigation.
The Watt Road fire was burning in timber and grass. The cause
was under investigation.
---
On The Web:
Northwest Interagency Fire Coordination Center:

https://www.or.blm.gov/nwcc/

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

US/Canada

By JIM COUR
Associated Press Writer
SEATTLE (AP) - If the Farewell Creek fire in northcentral
Washington crosses into Canada as expected, U.S. firefighters will
join forces with Canadian firefighters to battle it.
"We have a strong relationship with our Canadian fire
management and agency administrators," Darrel Kenops, acting
supervisor of the Okanogan and Wenatchee national forests, told The
Associated Press on Tuesday. "We meet every year to talk about
these sorts of things."
The fire was started by lightning June 29 in the upper Methow
Valley north of Winthrop. By Tuesday, the north edge of the fire
was about five miles from the Canadian border, the Wenatchee-based
Kenops told a Seattle news conference.
Also present were state Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland and
Linda Goodman, U.S. Forest Service regional forester from Portland,
Ore.
The cost of fighting the Farewell Creek fire so far is $17
million, with the total expected to go far higher, Goodman said.
The primary costs are the helicopters that drop water and
retardant and labor costs for about 1,000 firefighters, who are
working in 20-person crews in 12- to 14-hour shifts, the fire
officials said.
Washington state's largest wildfire so far this season was also
threatening to spread from the Pasayten Wilderness east into the
Loomis State Forest, which is state Department of Natural Resources
land. It was 10 miles west of the Loomis Forest on Tuesday,
Sutherland said.
"If we can't control this fire, it could move all the way over
into the valley area here, which would include probably another
60,000 to 75,000 acres of forested land," Sutherland said.
Kenops said two British Columbia fire management officials
attended a fire briefing Sunday night in Twisp.
"They've been reflecting on strategy if it does come across the
border," he said. "So we've been talking about how we can work
together."
Kenops wants to get permission from the Canadians for U.S.
helicopters to begin making water drops on the Canadian side of the
border. Four heavy-lift helicopters, four medium helicopters and
three lighter helicopters have been dropping water on the fire on
the U.S. side.
"So we can come at it from Canada," he said. "That's what
we're looking for."
The firefighters are battling the Farewell Creek blaze in higher
mountain elevations, but they're still working in 90-degree-plus
temperatures. The fire is burning heavy timber, including Douglas
fir.
Goodman and Sutherland said the worst may be yet to come in the
Northwest's fire season.
"We've already had unprecedented fires in Oregon and Washington
this year," Goodman said. "We're going to see more, I'm afraid."
Sutherland said fire officials had been warned by National
Weather Service forecasters that no significant rainfall is
expected in the next 30 days.
"It's dry right now and it's going to continue to be dry," he
said. "So what we're looking at is not only Eastern Washington,
where we do have some major fires, but also we have significant
issues to be aware of on the west side of the mountains."

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

Farewell Fire

By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS
Associated Press Writer
The nearly 59,000-acre Farewell Creek fire in northcentral
Washington is generating winds so strong they can rip trees out by
the roots and throw them ahead of the flames, officials said
Wednesday.
It will probably require snow or heavy rain later this year to
extinguish the flames in the wilderness inferno, fire spokesman
Steve Butterworth said.
"It is highly likely this fire will not be contained by
anything we can do," Butterworth said.
"We see no weather coming in the foreseeable future that would
slow the fire," Butterworth said. "The fire is going to continue
to grow."
Three wildfires burning now in Washington have consumed about
62,000 acres in all, but no homes have been lost and no major
injuries have been reported.
Fire districts in Eastern Washington were issued a warning
Tuesday by the National Weather Service that extremely low
humidity, high temperatures and winds gusting to 30 mph in the
region have increased the danger of wildfires.
The Farewell Creek fire is generating plumes of smoke that can
be seen from space. The fire is also generating winds so turbulent
that burning fuel is being thrown three-quarters of a mile in front
of the flames, Butterworth said.
Because the fire is burning in the Pasayten Wilderness near the
Canadian border, where motorized vehicles are prohibited, the fire
on that northern front is being fought only from the air,
Butterworth said.
Ground forces will not be used because a lack of roads in
wilderness areas means there is no escape route for the
firefighters, Butterworth said.
But ground forces would not make a difference, because normal
fire barriers like creeks, roads or manmade trails could not stop
flames of this size, he said.
"This fire is going to chew away at the wilderness,"
Butterworth said.
Officials in the United States officially warned their
counterparts in Canada on Wednesday that the flames were 5 miles
from the border and headed in their direction, Butterworth said.
"The U.S.-Canadian border will not be sufficient to stop this
fire," Butterworth said.
The fire was started by lightning June 29, and so far has cost
about $19 million to fight by more than 1,100 firefighters. They
are working primarily to keep the flames contained within the
wilderness boundaries, using backfires and retardant drops.
The fire was estimated at 58,734 acres Wednesday night, said
fire spokeswoman Deanna Raskovich.
Environmental groups praised the efforts of firefighters who are
letting the flames burn.
"The Forest Service deserves kudos for placing a priority on
protecting people and property and not pouring resources into the
backcountry where fire is natural and unavoidable," said Mitch
Friedman of the Northwest Ecosystem Alliance.
Elsewhere in Washington, a dozen huge hay stacks belonging to
Anderson Hay & Grain caught fire Tuesday afternoon near Ellensburg,
with the smoke visible for miles. No injuries were reported.
The fire destroyed an estimated 10,000 tons of hay, worth more
than $1 million. Kittitas County officials said the fire appeared
to be accidentally caused by workers using leaf blowers in the
area.
A fire burning on the Colville Indian Reservation north of
Keller was at 2,217 acres Wednesday night, and was 55 percent
contained. There were 638 firefighters on the line, fire spokesman
Noel Hardin said.
The McGinnis Flats fire started on July 18 and initial
investigation has determined that it was human caused. The fire has
cost $1.8 million to fight and containment is expected on Saturday.
No homes have burned but two outbuildings have been lost.
The 1,064-acre Watt Road fire southwest of Cheney, near Spokane,
was 80 percent contained Wednesday night, said fire spokesman Mike
Chandler.
---
On The Web:
Northwest Interagency Fire Coordination Center:

https://www.or.blm.gov/nwcc/

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

July 24, 2003

TONASKET, Wash. (AP) - Gov. Gary Locke marveled Thursday at the
size of the Farewell Creek wildfire, saying plumes of smoke rose
higher than his airplane.
Locke flew over the 58,734-acre fire, largest in the state, and
stopped at a fire command post at Tonasket Middle School.
"It was just an incredible sight," Locke said. "The smoke
column was higher than our plane and there were dozens and dozens
of fires."
A crew of firefighters shook hands with Locke as he entered the
building.
"All you guys here, I appreciate your hard work," he told the
firefighters. "Hang in there, keep safe, make sure your crews keep
safe."
Three major wildfires burning in Washington have swept across
more than 62,000 acres but there have been no serious injuries or
homes lost.
The fire near the Canadian border is growing in heavy timber,
said Mark Morris, a deputy forest supervisor for the
Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.
It is getting so large that it will take a "season-ending
event" - typically an early winter snowfall - to fully put out the
flames, Morris said.
"This is not going to be a quick 'put in a bulldozer line, put
out the fire,"' said Bob Anderson, an incident commander. "This
is going to burn for three months before it's out."
The fire has also shifted into a drier area of the Pasayten
Wilderness, where trees at the end of their 80-year life span have
been naturally killed by disease and insects, Morris said. The last
fires there occurred in 1929 and 1930.
Officials from the British Columbia Forest Service met with U.S.
officials Thursday since the blaze is just a few miles from the
border. It threatens British Columbia's Cathedral Provincial Park
and Snowy Provincial Park.
"Fires don't recognize borders," said Denis Gaudry, manager of
the Kamloops Fire Center in British Columbia.
Canadian crews may join U.S. firefighters as the blaze gets
closer, he said.
"We have a very close working relationship with the folks down
here," Gaudry said, adding officials hope the fire will stop at
natural mountain barriers of rock and bare land.
Locke told fire managers he would provide whatever resources
Washington state could offer, including extra crews and money.
On the east, the fire is currently approaching the Loomis State
Forest, a 136,000-acre reserve owned by the state. Money from
logging the forest is used to build schools in the state.
"Whatever the fire commanders need or want they'll get," Locke
said. "They have full control."
About 200 of the approximately 1,100 firefighters on the
Farewell Creek fire right now are from the state Department of
Natural Resources, many of them inmate crews, said Todd Myers, a
spokesman for state Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland's office.
Should the fire move into the Loomis Forest, it would be moving
closer to communities and working forests and thus the total number
of firefighters would likely increase, Myers said. State crews
would be a part of that, he said.
Locke said he was impressed with the way the fire management
team was cooperating. When he first started coming to fires,
different government agencies seemed to be battling each other more
than they fought the blaze, he said.
"In all my years going to various forest fires, I've noticed
the change," he said.
Because the fire is burning in a wilderness area, where
motorized vehicles are prohibited, the northern front is being
fought only from the air.
Ground forces are deployed around the perimeter of the
wilderness, hoping to keep the flames inside.
The fire was started by lightning June 29, and so far has cost
about $19 million to fight.
The two other wildfires in Eastern Washington aren't nearly as
worrisome.
A fire on the Colville Indian Reservation north of Keller
remained at 2,217 acres, and was 60 percent contained Thursday.
There were 638 firefighters on the line, fire spokesman Noel Hardin
said.
The McGinnis Flats fire started July 18 and initial
investigation has determined that it was human caused. The 1,064-acre Watt Road
fire southwest of Cheney, near Spokane,
was 90 percent contained Thursday, fire spokeswoman Josie Williams
said.
---
On the Net:
Northwest Interagency Fire Coordination Center:

https://www.or.blm.gov/nwcc/

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[mikemale]

Contract Crews?

Do you know of any contract crews in eastern Washington?

[NJFFSA16]

I do not...however, there may be someone among the forums, who is in a better position to answer that question.

Any takers? Someone in the Northwest?

[NJFFSA16]

7/28/03

(Undated-AP) -- A new wildfire west of Ellensburg has prompted
evacuations of about 38 homes tonight.
The so-called Highway 10 Fire began late this afternoon along
Highway 10 and the North Fork Highway.
The state Emergency Management Division says the evacuated homes
are southeast of the town of Thorp.
The fire is estimated to have burned about 300 acres so far,
with winds of about 25 miles per hour.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

More info

By JOHN K. WILEY
Associated Press Writer
A new Kittitas County wildfire on the east slopes of the Cascade
Mountains prompted the evacuation of about 38 homes Monday night, a
Washington state emergency management spokesman said.
The fire southeast of Thorp, west of Ellensburg, broke out
Monday afternoon and had burned 300 acres by Monday night,
spokesman Rob Harper said.
The fire was reported 90 percent contained by late Monday night,
and evacuees were gathered at a nearby staging area, awaiting the
all-clear to return to their homes, he said.
No injuries were reported and no structures were burned by the
fire, which burned brush, timber and agricultural land.
Kittitas County and state firefighters were battling the fire
and additional fire units were dispatched from nearby counties,
Harper said.
The blaze prompted the temporary closure of a section of Highway
10 Monday night. The state highway runs north of Interstate 90 in
the area.
Earlier Monday, a separate brush fire near Cle Elum, a few miles
west of Thorp, forced the Washington State Patrol to close the
westbound lanes of Interstate 90 about 85 miles east of Seattle for
about an hour.
In other Washington wildfire news, an elite Canadian
firefighting crew was preparing to help fight a wildfire that is
slowly burning toward the international border. However, safety
concerns on Monday postponed the crew's arrival.
"We're working on it today. There are a lot of logistics and
safety considerations," Farewell Fire spokeswoman Kristi Covington
said. "We're hoping for tomorrow, but that could change at any
time."
Officials had expected the 20-member Canadian hotshot crew to
join the firefighting efforts on Monday, but the crew members'
arrival in Washington was delayed by planning to ensure safety
zones and escape routes, Covington said.
More than 1,200 people were working the 69,962-acre fire north
of Winthrop and east of Loomis on the eastern slopes of the Cascade
Range in northcentral Washington state.
American hotshot teams were preparing to battle the fire at two
mountain passes inside the Pasayten Wilderness, about five miles
south of the border, hoping to slow or stop the fire's spread
toward Canada.
Plans called for the 20-member Canadian team to join 60 U.S.
hotshots preparing to make a stand on the fire's northwest flank.
"If we can't hold it there, the fire will probably continue its
run toward Canada along the Ashnola River drainage," fire
spokesman Kent Romney said.
The lightning-caused fire remained about 35 percent contained on
Monday, with firebreaks mainly along the southern portions outside
the wilderness.
Most of the fire has burned within the 530,000-acre wilderness,
which has no roads. Firefighting efforts there have been largely
restricted to helicopters dropping water and retardant chemicals.
The American and Canadian hotshots were to be the first crews on
the fire lines inside the wilderness, fire spokesmen said.
Crews were building two 6,000-gallon portable pools so
helicopters could fill buckets or siphon retardant mixture without
having to fly so far to refill, Romney said.
One of the "heli-wells" was being built about 1.5 miles north
of the border in Canada, Romney said.
Canadian crews are no strangers to firefighting efforts south of
the border, Mauragrace Healey of the Northwest Interagency
Coordination Center in Portland, Ore., said Monday.
There were 47 Canadian crews in the Pacific Northwest last year,
she said. She said she believed the 20 Canadian hotshot crew
members would be the first in the Northwest this season.
"It's not uncommon when Canada has an especially fierce fire
season that we help them out and, conversely, they help us out when
we need it," she said.
Regulations say that when a fire gets within five miles of the
international border, crews from either side of the line can fight
it, she said.
Mopup continued Monday inside the McGinnis Flats fire on the
Colville Indian Reservation, which produced the first fatality of
this fire season in Washington state.
The National Transportation Safety Board finished its on-scene
investigation Monday of the helicopter crash on the 2,233-acre fire
near Keller, spokesman Steve McCreary said from the agency's
regional office in Seattle.
Helicopter pilot Randall Harmon, 44, of Grants Pass, Ore., died
Friday while dropping water on the fire from a Kaman K-1200
helicopter.
Authorities hoped to recover key pieces of wreckage by the end
of the week, McCreary said.
It is too early to determine a preliminary cause and could take
six months or more before a cause is determined, he said.
There have been no serious injuries from any of the other
wildfires that have burned this summer in Washington. Those fires
have charred more than 90,000 acres.
The McGinnis Flats fire started July 18 and was being fought by
more than 600 firefighters. Investigators said the fire, which was
about 70 percent trailed, was caused by humans and had cost more
than $4.2 million to fight.
---
On the Net:
Northwest Interagency Fire Coordination Center:

https://www.or.blm.gov/nwcc/

Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest: www.fs.fed.us/r6/oka
Farewell Creek fire: www.fawnpeak.com