Incident Summary: The Kettle Complex includes three fires – the Stickpin, Renner, and Graves Mountain fires – all burning in an area south of the Canadian border, west of Highway 395, north of State Route 20, and east of Highway 21. The fires have remained at approximately 76,400 acres for the last week thanks to recent precipitation.
Current Situation: Cooler and wetter weather has allowed crews to make progress securing the fire perimeters. However, active and unsecured fire edge remains on the east flank of the Stickpin Fire, the northwest flank of the Renner Fire, and the north flank of the Graves Mountain Fire.
Planned Actions Today: Firefighters are working to secure fireline on the east side of the Stickpin Fire; mop-up, patrol, and suppression repair are being done on the north, west, and south flanks. Crews continue to prep an area of the northwest flank of the Renner Fire for a possible burnout operation, while scouting out opportunities for containment on the southwest flank. Mop-up, patrol, and suppression repair continues on the rest of the Renner Fire. On the Graves Mountain Fire, crews continue constructing fireline on the north flank near Deadman Creek Road while strengthening existing fireline along the south end of the fire. As fireline becomes more secure, crews will haul out equipment for use on future fires.
Closures/Restrictions: Deer Creek-Boulder Creek Road is open, but all connecting US Forest Service roads remain closed to non-fire traffic. Highway 21 between Republic and Keller reopened yesterday at 10:00 pm. Logging activity resumes today in some private timberlands affected by the fire. For firewood cutting, please call Washington Department of Natural Resources at 509-684-7474or the Colville National Forest at 509-684-7000 to see if cutting is allowed in your area or for permitting. Industrial operators should check with the Washington DNR Industrial Fire Precaution Levels hotline at 1-800-527-3305. Regardless of whether cutting is allowed, burned areas in the Colville National Forest will remain closed to non-fire traffic until further notice.
Weather Outlook and Fire Behavior: Mostly sunny skies with temperatures into the high 70s and low 80s with light winds for today. A warming and drying trend will continue into the weekend with increasing winds, lower humidity, and higher winds. As the drying trend continues, light fuels will become more receptive to ignition and heavy fuels will continue smoldering, leading to an increase in visible smoke.
Evacuation Information: All of Ferry County affected by the Kettle Complex remains at Evacuation Level 1.
Cooperating Agencies: USDA Forest Service Colville National Forest, Washington Department of Natural Resources Northeast Region, USDI Bureau of Land Management, Ferry County Fire District 3 and 13, Stevens County County Fire District 8, Curlew Fire Department, Ferry County Sheriff.
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