OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Rain that fell in neighboring areas didn’t reach the site of a small wildfire near Marymere Falls on Friday night, and the fire still smoldered Saturday.
A three-person crew arrived at the site of the 1.5-acre fire, called the Upper Falls fire, on Saturday to see if rain had extinguished it, but it was still creeping through underbrush.
“It appears there was no rainfall over that area,” said Rainey McKenna, Olympic National Park spokeswoman, on Saturday afternoon.
“The area is still dry. The fire is still smoldering.”
It has been contained within a perimeter, has not grown in size and is smoldering rather than blazing, McKenna said.
Monitoring fire
Crew members will continue to monitor the fire until it burns itself out, she added.
The fire is believed to have been human-caused and remains under investigation.
It started in steep, rugged terrain about a mile southwest of Lake Crescent Lodge on Wednesday afternoon.
By Thursday afternoon, fire crews had completed fire lines on the north and west sides of the fire, which was blocked naturally on two sides by a 75-foot cliff dropping downhill and Falls Creek, McKenna said.
The fire burned some trees Wednesday that were between 25 and 30 feet tall.
It did not threaten any structures, and no hiking trails were closed, McKenna said.
Smoke from the fire is localized and minimal, she said, and is not easily visible from Barnes Point or U.S. Highway 101.
McKenna noted that the eastern side of the park was included in a National Weather Service “red flag” warning and urged visitors to be cautious.
The Weather Service said there was a high wildfire danger from Friday afternoon through this evening across some parts of Western and Eastern Washington.
Forecasters said the risk came from dry lightning strikes as thunderstorms move across the state.
Burn ban
Although a burn ban is in effect on state-managed lands, campfires are permitted within developed campgrounds at Olympic National Park.
‘“It’s a red flag warning, so caution is advised,” McKenna said.
“Watch campfires, cigarette butts, any sort of fuel or incendiary device.”
Updated information on the fire will be posted to Olympic National Park’s fire management website at http://tinyurl.com/ONPFireUpdate and also can be found by calling the fire management recorded fire information line at 360-565-3125.
Update from Olympic National Park:
“The fire is holding within established fire lines and continues to remain 1.5 acres in size.
“Saturday, a park crew will continue to mop up accessible areas and monitor the fire while it consumes the remaining fuels within the fire line and burns itself out.”
OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — A fire crew remained today (Aug. 9) at the site of the still-smoldering Upper Falls fire to mop up accessible areas and monitor the blaze as it burns itself out.
The fire, burning in steep, rugged terrain about a mile southwest of Lake Crescent Lodge near Marymere Falls, has not grown from the 1.5 acres it covered on Thursday, said Rainey McKenna, Olympic National Park spokeswoman.
McKenna said the park’s three-person fire crew will continue to monitor the fire some 20 miles west of Port Angeles while it consumes the remaining fuels within fire lines created Thursday and burns itself out.
Park staff learned of the fire burning about a mile southwest of the Lake Crescent Lodge at about 5:15 p.m. Wednesday.
Park fire crew members began building fire lines Wednesday and were later joined by a 10-person state Department of Natural Resources team, which included inmates from the Olympic Corrections Center near Forks.
The DNR team left Thursday afternoon.
Fire lines were dug to the west and south of the fire, while the blaze was blocked to the north by a 75-foot downslope and Falls Creek to the east.
On Wednesday, the fire burned down some trees that were between 25 and 30 feet tall, but by today it was smoldering through underbrush upslope of Marymere Falls.
The fire did not affect access to hiking trails in the area and no structures were threatened, McKenna said.
Smoke from the fire is not easily visible from Barnes Point nor U.S. Highway 101 now, McKenna added.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Rangers suspect it was human-caused because there has been no lightning in the area recently, McKenna has said.
Updated information on the fire will be posted to Olympic National Park’s fire management website at tinyurl.com/ONPFireUpdate and can also be found by calling the fire management recorded fire information line at 360-565-3125.
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Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
