Burning out in the northwest portion of the fire today
Nile, Wash. – “The operational work on this incident has been fantastic,” said Operations Section Chief Dave Nalle, thanking firefighters and encouraging them to remain focused as they continue working to contain and mop up the 1,024-acre Meeks Table Fire.
There
is a burn out operation planned for the northwest portion of the fire today,
taking advantage of warming weather to use deliberate, controlled fire to bring
the active fire’s edge to a road that’s been prepared to hold it. This will
deal with a steep, snag-filled area that is unsafe for firefighters to
construct direct fireline. Approximately
180 acres will be burned, so more smoke will be visible than has been observed
in recent days.
The
weather is warming, with temperatures climbing back into the 70’s over the next
few days. This will enable more thorough
consumption of fuels during the burn out operation and may help the crews doing
mop up to identify additional residual hot spots. Although fuels remain very dry, especially
under tree cover, winds are expected to be light (3-6 mph) and the fire is
expected to stay on the ground.
Where
safely accessible, fire crews are suppressing small spot fires between steep
cliffs and Rattlesnake Creek on the south edge of the fire.
To
protect firefighter and public safety, the Forest Road 1600 system and the
Forest Road 1500 system from the eastern Forest boundary to Bethel Ridge (Cash
Prairie, Road 199) remain closed. Only
firefighters and law enforcement officers are allowed to use these roads at
this time.
Recreationists
who left their camps and equipment when instructed to evacuate from the Fire
vicinity last weekend have the option to be escorted back into the fire area
between 10 am and 4 pm to retrieve their belongings. The affected people can contact Fire
Information 509 658-1002 for more detail or simply go to the access point
nearest the campsite:
·
the
1500 Road (Bethel Ridge Rd) at the 199
junction for access to camps on the 1500 road system (T14N, R14E, section 7);
·
the 1600 Road
(Clover Springs Rd) at the 1601 junction for access to camps up the 1600 road
past that point (T16N, R15E, section 30);
·
the 1600 Road
(Clover Springs Rd) at the 1706 junction for access to camps down to and
including access into the 1605 Road (T16N, R14E, Section 6).
Access will not be
available from the 1500 Road (Bethel Ridge) at the eastern forest boundary near
Nile. This is a limited plan for safe, orderly access. It does not enable extensive travel away from
roads to obtain widely dispersed items.
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