Wildfire in Olympic National Park grows (with video)
A fire about nine miles north of the Staircase campground had grown to about 180 acres by Saturday, said Barb Maynes, Olympic National Park spokeswoman. -- Olympic National Park photo
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By Tom Callis
Peninsula Daily News
OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK -- A fire on Mount Hopper swelled to about 180 acres Saturday, sending up a plume of smoke seen for many miles.
Olympic National Park fire managers are monitoring the fire, which threatens no structures, but there are no plans to extinguish it.
The fire poses no immediate threat to life, safety, and property, the park said in statement.
Mount Hopper is on the southeastern side of Olympic National Park, about nine miles north of the park's Staircase campground.
A lightning strike started the fire on Aug. 5.
It had reached about 2 acres within a week, but it swelled to 120 acres Friday when northeast winds blew hotter air into the area.
The smoke was visible Saturday from Tacoma, about 40 miles away.
The fire is burning in a sub-alpine fir environment and is not expected to threaten Staircase or other popular destinations in the park, said Barb Maynes, ONP spokeswoman.
"It's about 8.5 to 10 miles from Staircase," she said, "but it's burning in an area quite enclosed by natural barriers."
The natural barriers include rock, bare ridge tops and snowfields, Maynes said.
All major trails and park facilities are open.
Only the Mount Hopper Way trail is closed.
"Natural fire in the landscape is an essential ecosystem process that is important in maintaining the park's diverse habitats by releasing nutrients that stimulate new plant growth, and creating a mosaic of vegetation communities," the park said in a statement.
For updates, a recorded information line can be reached at 360-565-2975.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
Last modified: August 15. 2010 1:49AM
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