9/20/2017 Diamond Creek Fire Update

 

Diamond Creek Fire: Wednesday September 20, 2017

Percent of completed objectives reaches 65% on the Diamond Creek Fire 
 

Location:  11 miles NNW of Mazama, WA                               Total Personnel:  259
Acres:  129,000 total acres in US and Canada                        Cause:  Under Investigation
Containment:  65%                                                                  Start Date:  July 23, 2017
Note:  The increase in percent contained reflects the percent of operational objective completed.

Update: Suppression repair work continued steadily yesterday along the contingency lines and Early Winter Guard Station. Work included hand piling, log repositioning and stacking, and wood chipping. Minimal fire activity is in the Monument and Pat Creek drainages, and the northeast section of the fire.

Ten fire crews, 11 engines, 3 helicopters and 4 dozers remain on the incident. Fire managers have received all resources needed to complete suppression efforts.

Over the coming days and weeks, the Forest will be completing Burned Area Emergency Response assessments. Together with local emergency management, Forest hydrologists, soil scientists, and other experts will be assessing the potential for future flooding or debris flow on public lands effected by this fire.

Today’s Activities: Along with monitoring fire activity, the plan for today is to do much of the same work as yesterday. Crews will continue to remove and stack felled trees, and pile/chip debris created during construction of the primary and contingency lines.

Weather:  A large Pacific trough will continue to dominate the weather over north-central Washington through Friday. Increase cloud coverage is expected with a 20% chance of rain and snow showers in the morning, a 50% of rain and snow showers in the afternoon. Temperatures from 5,500-6,500 feet are expected at 43-49 degrees and 6,500-7,500 feet 37-43 degrees. Northwest winds on ridge tops will be at 8-12 mph, with gusts up to 15 mph during the afternoon. Exposed slopes and valley winds are expected at 5-10 mph from the northwest, with gusts up to 15 mph in the afternoon.

Smoke:  Continued moisture will further reduce the production of smoke from the Diamond Creek Fire and other fires in the area. Expect good air quality conditions over the next couple of days with the possibility of smoke and haze in valley bottoms in the nighttime hours.

Closures: Due to moderating fire behavior and completed line construction, areas on the east and west sides of the Diamond Creek Fire are being opened for public use effective September 18. On the west side, Hart’s Pass Road, Robinson Creek and Middle Fork of the Pasaytan River are now open. Open on the east side are Falls Creek, Black Lake, the lower section of Andrew’s Creek and the Chewuch 510 trail to the confluence of Basin Creek. Maps have been posted to the Diamond Creek Fire InciWeb and Facebook pages.

Evacuation Alert Level:  The Level 2 Evacuation “Be Ready” issued on September 13, has been reduced to LEVEL 1 “ALERT” for the Lost River area to Mazama, east to Lancaster Road near Mile Post 188 on State Route 20, north to Diamond T Road off of Rendezvous Road, north to Cub Creek Road intersection with Forest Service Road 5215300, and west to Lost River.

Information: (509) 996-4040 from 8 am – 6 pm
Website: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5409/
Facebook: facebook.com/diamondcreekfire2017
Smoke Conditions: wasmoke.blogspot.com
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