New team managing slow-moving Paradise Fire

Published 12:01 am Wednesday, July 15, 2015

OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Management of the slow-moving fire in the Queets River valley has transferred to a new team even as a shift in the weather heralds a more active fire in coming weeks.

As of Tuesday morning, the Paradise Fire’s spread had reached 1,590 acres and remained at 21 percent containment.

The cost of fighting the fire has reached $2 million, according to the Incident Management Situation Report.

Containment remains limited to the south boundary at the Queets River and a western fire line near Bob Creek.

Recent work on the fire, which is burning in old-growth forest 13 miles inside Olympic National Park on steep valley walls, is expected to help contain any further growth to the west or south.

The National Incident Management Organization team of fire managers led by Bill Hahnenberg departed from the Port Angeles fire management headquarters Tuesday, and a Type 3 local fire management team has taken charge.

The new incident commander is Jason Loomis.

130 working on fire

As of Tuesday, the number of people assigned to the fire rose to 130 as new teams arrived and other teams prepared to depart.

Cool, damp weather that has kept moisture levels in fire fuels has passed, and the forecast for next few days calls for lower humidity and warmer temperatures.

A Washington Conservation Corps crew has completed its assignment on the lower section of the Queets River trail and left the area Tuesday.

The Central Oregon Type 2 Initial Attack crew assigned to clear the upper trail continued to make progress and is expected to clear 5 additional miles of upper trail to provide access to the fire to be able to use pack trains to supply the firefighters.

The open fire ban remains in effect in the park’s wilderness backcountry, including all park locations along the coast.

Campfires are permitted only in established fire grates at established front-country campgrounds.