OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — The first helicopter water drops on the Paradise Fire began Sunday as a team of 18 smokejumpers were pulled off the slow-burning wildfire due to the danger of the steep, wooded terrain.
On Sunday, the fire had grown to 407 acres inside Olympic National Park on the north floodplain of the Queets River valley near Paradise Creek, 13 miles northeast of Quinault, said Diane Avendrop, spokeswoman for the team assigned to the fire.
Most of the growth in acreage represents better mapping, not significant fire growth, Avendrop said.
The fire was still listed as being 5 percent contained Sunday and had moved into the extremely steep mountainside adjacent to the floodplain.
“We are doing everything possible to minimize the fire’s spread, but right now we do not have many options,” said Todd Rankin, the park’s fire management officer.
“Traditional suppression tactics do not work in this fuel type since the fire spread is occurring in the forest canopy, not on the ground.”
Avendrop said helicopters had been involved in transporting personnel and equipment into the area, and fire managers began water drops Sunday to slow the steady advance of the flames.
Trees on the slopes surrounding the fire are three meters in diameter, and there are additional snags, logs and underbrush that provide thick fuels and not much ability for firefighters on the ground to interrupt the fire’s progress, Avendrop said.
“With our little shovels, we can’t be effective there,” she said.
Fire officials have said they believe the fire was started by lighting in May and smoldered until fuels began to dry out in the recent warm, dry conditions.
Park officials have closed the Queets River Trail at Bob Creek until further notice to protect public and employee safety.
For more information and updates about the Paradise Fire, visit http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4305.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.