8/10/2016 Buck Creek Fire Update

Buck Creek Fire tampered by recent rains

NOTICE: Fire closures remain in effect for the Buck Creek Fire, which include the Buck Creek Trail No. 1513, Chiwawa River Trail No. 1550, Phelps Creek Trail No. 1511 and the Carne Mountain Trail No. 1508. Also closed are the Phelps Creek Campground and Forest Road 6200 immediately north of Alpine Meadows Campground.

Leavenworth, WA – The Buck Creek Fire received over a third of an inch of rain on Monday. This wetting rain limited new fire growth with overall fire size at 250 acres inside the Glacier Peak Wilderness.

Fire managers utilize current, projected seasonal trends, on site conditions, and prediction models as a management tool when determining the best course of action to manage fires in the wilderness.

“We are letting the fire play its natural role at a right place and right time for the right reasons for the long-haul” said Stock. “We are fully prepared for this healthy fire to be with us until snowfall.”

Because the fire is located in steep, wilderness terrain with a large amount of both dead-and-down and dead-and-standing trees with few safety zones for firefighters, the Buck Creek Fire will continue to be managed for wilderness values in an area that has seen little natural fire in the past century.

Visitors to Buck Creek and recreation areas downstream of the Chiwawa River from the closure area should expect to see smoke settle into the valley overnight and then lift as the days warm towards the weekend. Because the fire is burning in moist, green fuels, the fire is producing a good deal of smoke for its size. The forecast is calling for warmer and drier days through the weekend with perhaps another chance for rain early next week.