8/26/2016 Olympic National Park Fire Update

Fire Activity continues to produce smoke, impacting the peninsula Yesterday crews continued to reinforce structure protection and were successful at effectively preping the Wilder Hiker Shelter and Botten Cabin. They also placed fire retardant foil wrap on the Godkin Bridge for infrastructure protection. A combination of aerial and ground monitoring over all four fires were in effect. A short crew of three firefighters were inserted at the Ignar Fire near Pyrites Creek to monitor and help notify hikers of potental hazards in the area. Two other short squads will be inserted and assigned to help monitor fire activity in the Hayes and Godkin fire areas.

Today fire activity is expected to be similar to yesterday. Smoke may be seen throughout the day around the peninsula, though the fires are still deep in remote wilderness. Fire activity is expected to continue today and into most of the weekend with warm temperatures reaching into the mid-80s today and expected to drop down tomorrow to 69 degrees.Today relative humidity will be between 27- 40%, with winds coming from the northeast at 3-6 mph and shifting out of the northwest at 4-6 mph. Forecasts are showing cooler and damper weather expected to arrive on Sunday evening. Aerial and ground monitoring for all four fires will continue throughout the day. Ground crews will continue working on structure protection in the park, as needed.

Aircraft Subject to Temporary Flight Restriction

Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) has been extended in order to cover the expanded fire areas and because of the increase in use of helicopters for water drops and supply delivery. If drones (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) are ever observed near firefighting operations, our aircraft are not allowed to fly. Drone launching in national parks is illegal.

Smoke Could Effect Air Quality

Fires have been and are expected to continue to exhibit active fire behavior into the weekend. The heavy amount of smoke is due to the extreme quantities of fuel and burnable materials. Smoke continues to settle into surrounding valleys at night and early into the morning but has been lifting during the day. People can take precautions to protect themselves by staying indoors when smoke is present. Detailed information on air quality and health impacts is available at www.wasmoke.blogspot.com.

Below is a summary of the fires.  All four fires were started by lightning on July 21, 2016.

Fire Name	Godkin	Hayes	Cox Valley	Ignar Creek
Initial Report	7.25.2016	7.26.2016	7.28.2016	7.29.2016
Estimated size 8/25/2016	521 acres	2310 acres	57 acres	6 acres
Location	25 miles south of Port Angeles along the Elwha River	20 miles south of Port Angeles on a ridgeline between the Lost River and Hayes River	Approximately 12 miles south of Port Angeles, near PJ Lake north of Obstruction Point Ridge	Approximately 22 miles northeast of Lake Quinault

Photos, maps, and previous updates are available online.

Inciweb address: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4906/

Facebook:  http://tinyurl.com/ONP-ONF-FireInfo (a Facebook account is not needed to view this page.)