9/14/2015 Carpenter Road Fire Update

Carpenter Road Fire – Fruitland, Washington

Location:  35 miles NW of Spokane, WA;

Information Center: (509) 722-6010 or (509) 722-6040

Incident Commander:  Doug Johnson

Inciweb: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4549/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarpenterRoadFire

Washington Smoke Information: http://wasmoke.blogspot.com/

Current Situation
The fire perimeter encompasses 63,972 acres, nearly 100 square miles, and is 95% contained.

Change is a key word for the coming week.  Cooler temperatures and an increasing probability of precipitation are anticipated as the week progresses.  Such conditions should be favorable for making the fire perimeter more secure.

The second change is the departure of Oregon Interagency Incident Management Team 3 which will be replaced by a smaller organization.  Sufficient progress has been made to downsize the forces required to complete the remaining work.  Today, the new organization’s leadership will accompany their counterparts to familiarize themselves with the conditions and work at hand.  Tuesday, the new organization will assume full responsibility for continuing operations commonly referred to as a “transition”. Oregon Team 3 would like to thank the community for the support during our stay on the Carpenter Road Fire.

Despite the impending leadership changes, the work remains very similar.  The western half of the fire has met established standards and suppression repairs are virtually complete.  An inventory of all suppression lines is being catalogued to assure that all repairs are accomplished. 

Heavy equipment is being repositioned on the eastern flank where the focus will be on the repairs needed in the Springdale-Hunters Road vicinity, including the road corridor.

In the interest of safety, the public, including archery hunters and other recreationists, is asked to refrain from going near the fire area or driving on interior roads.  Heavy equipment and firefighters continue to work in the area and fire managers remind the public to watch out for them.

Closures and Evacuation Information:

·         Stevens County EOC:  (509) 684-7598 or www.co.stevens.wa.us 

·         On Tribal lands, the fire perimeter remains closed while other Tribal lands are open.  For more information please contact the Spokane Tribal Police:  (509) 258-4400.

Assigned: 350 personnel (total)

9 crews; 1 helicopter; 20 engines (wildland & structural); 9 Dozers; 4 Water Tenders; 5 Excavators; 1 Masticator

Fire Prevention:
Today most equipment requires the use of a spark arrestor. A spark arrestor is a mechanical device that traps or destroys hot exhaust particles that have been released from an internal combustion engine.

A spark arrestor works by destroying carbon particles that are greater than .023 inches in diameter. The most commonly used spark arrestor traps carbon particles in the exhaust system. Then by screening the larger carbon particles out of the exhaust, the heavier particles are thrown against the walls of the arrestor and into a trap.

Spark arrestors can be divided into two categories: multi-position small engine (MSE) and general purpose (GP). MSE's are designed for handheld equipment such as chain saws, blowers etc. GP's are designed for an engine that remains in a single position for tractors, motorcycles, etc.

While spark arrestors are not 100% effective, they GREATLY reduce the risk of starting a wildfire.