8/2/2015 Paradise Fire Update

Paradise Fire Update               

Sunday, August 2, 2015 – 9:30am
360-797-5366

Fire activity increased substantially on the Paradise Fire during the day on Saturday due to high heat and very dry air.  An inversion at about 2000 feet elevation created smoke impacts in all of the river valleys along the west side of the Olympic Peninsula.

Smoke was thick enough to obscure views from the Kloochman Lookout most of the day.  However, a full motion video camera was installed at the Kloochman Lookout.  This specialized equipment provides fire managers with real time information and thermal imaging.  It is capable of detecting hotspots and potential new starts, even through thick inversions and marine layers.  Fire managers were able to monitor the heat even through the smoke.  This helped them confirm that the fire remains north of the Queets River. A similar camera was installed on the east side of the fire.   Once the inversion lifted and ventilation improved over the fire area, a helicopter crew confirmed that the fire had grown on the western flank, and remains north of the 

Smoke dispersal is expected to improve throughout the day today since the forecast calls for increased mixing, or movement in the air.  If conditions are favorable, a reconnaissance flight of the Queets River drainage will take place this afternoon.  This will provide fire managers with a more accurate measure of the fire's movement.  

The Paradise Fire continues to burn in extremely remote and steep terrain.  The fire is being managed with a confine-contain strategy.  Natural barriers, rather than fire line, are keeping the fire in check.  This strategy is the safest option and is based on an evaluation of the risks.  The fire remains in the Queets River drainage and is not directly threatening any people or communities.  However, smoke impacts can be expected intermittently throughout the peninsula for the rest of the summer, depending on the weather and winds.  It will take substantial rain or snowfall for the fire to be extinguished entirely.  

For information updates throughout the day, visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Paradise-Fire/831205013596015.

Information on this fire is also available on Inciweb at http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4305/.

For current information about visiting Olympic National Park, as well as information about the history and role of fire in the Olympic ecosystem, please visit the park's website at http://www.nps.gov/olym.

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Paradise Fire Information Staff

360-797-5366