FIRE INFORMATION:
509-724-0040
Incident Summary:
The Kettle Complex includes
three fires –
the
Stickpin, Renner and Graves Mountain fires
– all burning
south
of the Canadian
border, west of Highway 395, north
of State Route 20 and
east of Highway 21. The fires
remain at approximately 76,400
acres.
Yesterday’s
operations: Crews utilized
the warm, dry weather over the past few days to make
excellent progress
on all fires. Burnout operations were successful on the
north end of the Renner Fire. Falling of fire weakened trees
for
the safety of firefighters, mop-up
and repair operations all
took place Sunday. Helicopters were used
to suppress pockets of heat on the
north
end of the Stickpin Fire and on
the east side of
the Graves Mtn. Fire. Mop-up, repair work, backhaul (removal
of
supplies, trash
and equipment from the fire
area) and patrols were conducted
on all
fires.
Today’s operations: Firefighters continue
to mop-up
on all fires. Mop-up
is
the meticulous
process of gridding
for,
finding and
extinguishing every last remnant of
heat. This is the dirtiest job on the fire, often
being conducted on hands and knees.
With burnout operations
winding down, mop-up, suppression repair and
backhaul operations
are occurring on all
fires. Every piece of equipment - be
it
hose, hose fittings,
flagging, signs, portable
tanks, pumps, water containers, fuel
cans, trash, etc. - will
be removed from the
fire area.
It took weeks to
get all this
to
the fireline and set up; it takes
an equally long process to
remove it all. Once
the equipment is removed, it is refurbished, cataloged, sent back to caches
and
made available
for
the next fire.
Weather Conditions: Temperatures will cool
over the next few days with
increased relative
humidity and rain
showers. Firefighters will continue
to work with what nature provides
to
make the best progress possible. Fire
perimeters are looking
good and the cool, moist weather is likely to
help operations now that burnout operations were successfully completed.
Highway Safety: Logging
activity continues today on private and state forest lands affected by the
fire. Log trucks are using Boulder Creek Road and Highway 395. Drivers in the
area should expect increased logging traffic as
well as fire
equipment and are
urged to use caution. Keep
an eye out for wildlife
displaced from the
fires and for cows
grazing on the roadside.
Closures/Restrictions: Deer Creek-Boulder Creek Road
is
open, but all connecting US Forest Service roads
remain closed to
non-fire traffic. Highway 21 is open. For firewood
cutting, please call Washington Department of
Natural Resources (DNR) at 509-684-7474
or the Colville National
Forest at 509-684-7000 to
see if cutting is
allowed in
your
area or for permitting. Regardless of whether cutting is allowed, burned
areas in the Colville National
Forest will remain
closed to
non-fire
traffic until
further notice.
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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