8/18/15 Cougar Creek Update (South Central Washington

Good Morning! Fire growth has slowed and firefighters continue to make good progress in building and reinforcing fire line. Thank you for your support and please help us prevent human caused fires by being vigilant with any flame source.

GLENWOOD, Wash. – Crews continue to make steady progress to build and reinforce established fire line along the west and south flanks of the fire to protect Glenwood and Trout Lake ahead of forecasted high winds. Today they will continue with line construction and burnout operations on the east flank of the fire. Crews will also continue to scout for possible line locations on the remainder of the fire.

Morning mist, cooler temperatures and calmer winds helped slow the spread of the Cougar Creek Fire yesterday and allowed firefighting crews to bring 20 percent of the line under containment. The fire grew by 100 acres Monday to 22,600 acres.

Washington Interagency Incident Management Team #5 continues to focus line building efforts on the southeast side of the fire to stop the front that threatened Glenwood last week. Resources are also being directed to the northeast end of the fire to keep it from reaching Big Muddy Creek. Preservation of an irrigation flume off Bacon Creek on the east remains a priority. Heavy use of air resources will continue as weather allows.

Smoke continues to linger low in the air south of the fire, with reports of hazy skies as far as White Salmon. Residents north of Ladiges Road remain under a Level 1 evacuation from the Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office. The Level 1 notice advises residents to be alert of the fire’s activity.

Treacherous terrain and heavy fuel loading from bug-killed timber and remains of the Cold Springs and Cascade Creek fires present firefighting challenges. Those factors were also key in the initial spread of the fire, which was sparked by lightning Aug. 10.

It has burned land protected by the Yakama Indian Nation, Washington Department of Natural Resources, and the United States Forest Service.

With resources stretched thin throughout the nation, officials expect few to no arrivals of additional resources. However, fire qualified personnel from cooperating agencies in Washington and Oregon are being made available for assignment as needed.

CLOSURES: For the safety of firefighters and the public: DNR - All DNR State Trust lands and recreation sites within the Glenwood Block are closed. Yakama Indian Nation - Tract D Mt. Adams Recreation Area is closed. USFS – The South Climb & all other trails on the south & east sides of Mt. Adams are closed between Forest Road 23 at Williams Mine to the eastern boundary of the Forest. Forest Roads 80 & 82 are also closed.

Future daily updates will be posted by 9 a.m. each day on InciWeb: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4484/.

An information phone line and email address has been established.