Diamond Creek Fire: Thursday September 21, 2017
Suppression Repair Work Continues
Location: 11 miles NNW of Mazama, WA
Total Personnel: 249
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 objectives completed.
Update:
Yesterday helicopters flew for the first time in several days dropping firefighters off to assess suppression repair work. In addition to retrieving hose lay, firefighters unwrapped a cabin in the Hidden Lakes area. Wrapping is a technique where heat reflective material is used to protect structures potentially in the path of a fire.
There was more good work done with suppression repair. One of the areas of work was along the 500 Road.
Despite the recent days of cloud cover and light drizzle, the fire has still not received “wetting rains.” A wetting rain is a rain of 0.1 inch or more. For example, the most rain reported yesterday in the eastern end of the fire was 0.05 inch.
Six fire crews, three engines, two helicopters and one dozer remain on the incident. Fire managers have received all resources needed to complete suppression efforts.
It is important to remember that the emergency caused by the wildfire is not necessarily over when the smoke dissipates. Completion of the Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) assessment over the coming days and weeks will address public safety.
Today’s Activities: Suppression repair work will continue on the 500 Road and other areas along the contingency fire lines. Crews will continue to remove and stack felled trees using feller bunchers, and pile/chip debris created during construction of the primary and contingency lines. Weather: The Diamond Creek Fire will see two more days of unsettled cool weather under the influence of a large upper trough. The trough will slowly be exiting to the east, thus precipitation potential will be trending downward each day. Clouds will increase today and there is a 40% chance of rain and snow, depending on elevation. Winds will be 4-8 mph in the valleys and 10-15 mph, with gusts up to 20 mph during the afternoon on ridgetops.
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 Evacuation Level remains at a Level 1 “Alert”.
Information: (509)996-4040 from 8 am – 6 pm
Website: inciweb.nwcg.gov/
Facebook: facebook.com/
Smoke Conditions: wasmoke.blogspot.
#DiamondCreekFire #WaWildfire
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