Paradise Fire in West Jefferson County merely slowed by rainfall
Published 12:01 am Tuesday, July 28, 2015
OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — More than an inch of rain fell in the Queets River valley between Thursday and Sunday, but it wasn’t enough to douse the Paradise Fire, according to fire managers
“For as much moisture that occurred on the fire over the weekend, there was still a considerable amount of smoke produced,” said Mike Klimeck, incident commander trainee.
The fire in West Jefferson County, which was sparked by a lightning strike in mid-May, is expected to burn through the summer months and remain active until heavy winter rains extinguish the deepest embers in deep duff and massive old-growth logs.
The fire is currently slowed with 1,781 acres burned and showed little growth during the four days of rain and showers.
Fire managers said they expect the forecast of warm, dry weather in the next week to result in increased fire behavior.
The weather station near the fire recorded 1.41 inches of rain Thursday through Monday morning, with the greatest total rainfall of the period measured Thursday.
The North Cascade Fire Effects Module crew currently assigned to the fire is in the process of laying out four plots in the path of the fire to study fire behavior in temperate rainforest, a location where large fires are uncommon.
Members of the team have completed three of the four plots, and are nearly finished with the project.
Vegetation within the plots is measured establish a baseline of volume and type of vegetation in the area.
If the fire burns over the plots, the remaining vegetation will be measured and examined to determine the fire’s behavior in that area.
Firefighter safety remains the top priority for fire managers and is at the forefront of the strategic plan.
Because of the steep slopes, risks of falling trees and burning debris, fire crews are kept outside of the fire’s perimeter to guard against fire spread, rather than entering the fire perimeter itself.
A burn ban remains in effect for all open fires in the park’s wilderness backcountry, including all locations along the wilderness coast.
Campfires are allowed only in developed campgrounds in approved fire rings.
