OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — The 11-week old Ten Mile fire, charring old-growth forest that hasn’t felt the bite of flames in a century, ate another 136 acres in a week, as dry weather and dense forest-floor duff fueled the oldest and largest of the Heatwave Complex fires.
The other four Heatwave Complex fires — 12 fires all ignited by lightning, most of them in July — that still burn in Olympic National Park have not spread since last Tuesday.
But the Ten Mile fire in the Duckabush Valley — the firstborn of the blazes, which was ignited June 13 about 15 miles west of Brinnon — was found during a fly-over Monday to have spread over 628 acres, with about 20 percent of its edge actively burning rather than smoldering, said Larry Nickey, Olympic National Park fire management officer.
Last week, before it fed on a pocket of debris on its east side, it covered 492 acres.
“Fire activity and smoke has increased with warmer, drier weather, as expected,” said incident comander Todd Rankin.
Constance fire the same
Ten Mile’s neighbor to the north, the Constance fire, remained at 438 acres, with active flames on only about 5 percent of its perimeter, Nickey said.
The Constance fire began in the Dosewallips River Valley at Constance Creek on July 11.
The fires are about 13 miles from Brinnon. Nickey said winds were carrying smoke and fire away from the Hood Canal town.
Meeting in Brinnon
A public meeting is scheduled at 6 p.m. Friday at the Brinnon Fire Department station at 272 Schoolhouse Road.
Fire managers will be available to answer questions and share updated photographs and videos.
Firefighters are monitoring both blazes, mopping up hot areas on the east side, and clearing trees off the Dosewallips Road and trail, Nickey said.
Five are assigned to the eastern lower flank of the Ten Mile fire, while four are watching Constance.
“There is very little rain,” Nickey said. “There is not enough rain to put them down very much.”
The other three Heatwave Complex fires that remained active Tuesday are:
• The 324-acre Buckinghorse fire in the upper Elwha Valley in the heart of the park in Jefferson County. Little smoke was seen this week at that fire, which began July 29, Nickey said.
• The 140-acre Knife fire, which is near the Buckinghorse fire and which began the same day it did. On Monday, an increase in smoke was seen on its west flank.
• The 4-acre Solduc fire, which has smoldered in the Seven Lakes Basin since July 29. Smoke has become visible again there after no sighting of smoke for about a week. The Solduc blaze is the only Heatwave Complex blaze still burning that is in Clallam County.
The fires still active have burned 1,534 acres of the 922,651-acre park.
Natural fires
The Ten Mile is of particular concern to firefighters because of the large amount of fuel available to it: many fallen trees, old growth, and heavy brush.
But, “It’s a natural fire and we’re allowing the fire to return to that particular area,” Nickey said. “It’s being allowed to continue west unimpeded.”
The Heatwave Complex fires are creating a mosaic of burned and unburned vegetation across the landscape, fire manager say.
“These fires are moving slowly across the landscape where they are benefitting the ecosystem,” Rankin said.
Fire managers expect the fires to burn into September, but that shorter, cooler days will reduce the potential for large fire growth.
A few additional periods of increased fire activity are probable, they said, and some interior pockets of vegetation will continue to smolder until rain extinguish the fires completely, probably in mid-October.
A backcountry fire ban and several backcountry trail closures remain in effect.
For backcountry conditions, phone the park’s Wilderness Information Center at 360-565-3100.
For more fire information, phone 360-565-3124, 360-565-2975, or visit www.inciweb.org.
________
Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
