Weather wets Paradise Fire
Published 12:01 am Sunday, August 9, 2015
OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Cool, wet weather was expected to dampen — but not extinguish — the 2,392-acre Paradise Fire today.
An upper-level low-pressure system was forecast to stall off the Northwest Coast, providing high humidity, low temperatures and weak winds .
The Haines Index — a scale for predicting if a wildfire will “explode” — was low in all atmospheric levels of the North Olympic Peninsula, according to the National Weather Service.
On Friday, fire officials flew over the blaze on the north side of the Queets River and observed smoke coming from previously unburned pockets.
Smoke was heaviest near Bob Creek, but officials said the fire did not immediately threaten lives or property.
Sprinkler system
Meanwhile, crews continued to install a sprinkler system to increase humidity near the western edge of the fire, ignited in May by lightning.
Helicopters transported firefighters to and from the fireline and dropped buckets of water.
Crews were withdrawn from the fireline Friday afternoon as weather deteriorated, and officials said Saturday the low ceiling may continue to restrict flights into the area.
The sprinkler system will join a “pumpkin” — a 3,000-gallon tank — that allows helicopter crews to fill buckets without draining the Queets River aquatic ecosystem that has been beset by record-setting drought.
On Thursday, a state Department of Natural Resources Type 2 helicopter dropped water east of Bob Creek.
Type 2 helicopters carry up to 300 gallons of water. Type 3 helicopters also have been used to fight the Paradise Fire. They carry up to 100 gallons of water.
The Queets River Trail is closed east of Spruce Bottom. Starting at 12:01 a.m. Monday, the river itself will be closed to recreational fishing — along with most other rivers and streams in Olympic National Park — to protect spawning salmon.
