Northwest Interagency Coordination Center: 9/7/2017 Jolly Fire Update

Thursday, September 7, 2017

9/7/2017 Jolly Fire Update

Community Briefing: There will be a Community Briefing at 6:00 PM, Thursday September 7, at Walter Strom Middle School Gymnasium, 2694 State Route 903, Cle Elum, WA 98922.

Location: Cle Elum Ranger District, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, 11 miles northwest of Cle Elum, WA.

Yesterday: Heavy smoke persisted in the Jolly Mountain Fire area, moderating fire behavior and allowing firefighters to continue burnout operations, prepare containment line, cut down hazard trees, and perform mop-up on the south and western fire perimeters. That same smoke limited helicopter operations until late afternoon during a brief period of improved visibility. Night shift firefighters continued tactical firing operations on portions of the southern and southwestern perimeters, creating a buffer of burned fuel down to the planned containment line. Structure protection crews are actively engaged both day and night, extinguishing advancing fire, assessing structures, and prepping and brushing dozer lines.
The Washington National Guard arrived yesterday, bringing with them mobile day-sleeping barracks for the night shift crews, security personnel, and two Type 2 firefighting handcrews.

Today's Activities: Crews will continue to ignite and hold firelines and perform structure assessment and protection, while further preparing containment and contingency lines along Cle Elum Ridge, above the communities of Roslyn and Ronald, and communities east of Cle Elum Lake. Crews are conducting mop-up to secure fire-line. Firefighters continue to develop plans to extend containment line to the eastern fire perimeter near Jungle Creek, while scouting out potential opportunities to do the same on the northwest perimeter.
While fire crews have been successful in protecting values at risk, there are over 20 miles of active fire perimeter currently uncontained on the fire. The fire area contains large areas of beetle-killed forest with dead and down fuel.

Evacuations: Be prepared by remembering the five P’s for evacuations: people (and pets), prescriptions, personal computers, photos, and papers. Visit the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office webpage for complete descriptions of the Level 1 (Ready), Level 2 (Set), and Level 3 (Go) evacuation notices. An interactive map that shows fire perimeter and allows a homeowner to enter an address to see its evacuation status, is available at https://tinyurl.com/yb2wfelg.

Closures and Fire Restrictions: Area closures are in effect to ensure the safety of firefighters, residents, and the public. Forest Service lands in the upper Cle Elum Valley are closed beyond the Last Resort Restaurant on State Route 903, east to Highway 97. The Nature Conservancy lands east of Cle Elum Lake are closed. All Washington Department of Natural Resources lands in the Teanaway River Corridor west of Route 97 including all campgrounds in the Teanaway Community Forest are closed. Please consult detailed maps, available on fire information boards as well as posted online, prior to making plans. Washington DNR and the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest have banned all campfires due to the high fire danger.

Weather: Smoke will continue over the area, keeping temperatures in the low-to-mid 80’s. Expect afternoon northwest winds of 10-15 mph and gusts of 20 mph. Relative humidity will increase slightly today with a chance of showers in the early evening.