8/14/2018 Miriam Fire Update

Miriam Fire Update Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Miriam Fire Update Fire Information Line: 360-481-0031   August 14, 2018 – 9 a.m. Special Announcements: Evacuation levels around the Rimrock Lake area have been adjusted as of 8-13-2018. Please see the Yakima County Office of Emergency Management Facebook pagehttps://www.facebook.com/yakimacountyoem for a full description. Acres: Miriam Fire – 2,250 acres: Clear Fork Fire - 10 acres                                                                                      Percent Containment: 10%                                                                                                                           Start Date: 07/30/18 Personnel/Resources: 2-Type 2 IA hand crews, 3-Type 2 hand crews, 2 camp crews, 1 heavy lift helicopter, 2-medium lift helicopter, 1-light lift helicopter, 15 engines, 1 dozer, 6-water tenders for 392 total personnel. Location: Two miles east of White Pass Ski Area, within the Goat Rocks Wilderness on the Naches Ranger District, 13 miles east of Packwood, WA. Cause: Lightning Estimated Incident Containment or completion: 9/1/2018 Smoke Information: Smoke is currently being blown into the area from Canada and impacting the local area. For further smoke information visit http://wasmoke.blogspot.com/p/state.html   Current Activity on the Miriam Fire:  There was a slight increase in burning activity on the south flank yesterday as fuels dried. There were no control issues. Crews and heavy equipment continued to strengthen, improve containment and contingency lines. Structure protection work is completed at the White Pass Ski Area and the Clear Lake area.   Today, firefighters will mop-up hot spots and chip fuels along Forest Road (FR) 1207. Heavy equipment will begin operations along FR 1204 and 1205 to remove logs to a storage location. Work on the contingency lines will continue, looking for opportunities to strengthen. Structure protection resources will continue to monitor all areas.   Current Activity on the Clear Fork Fire: Helicopters worked the majority of the day yesterday dropping water to keep this fire within the retardant lines. A Wildland Fire Module hiked into the area for a closer view and guided the water drops. This fire will be monitored closely with aerial resources today.   Northwest Incident Management Team 8 (NWIMT8), Incident Commander – Doug Johnson, assumed management of the Miriam and Clear Fork Fires this morning at 6 a.m.  NWIMT8 would like to thank the NWIMT7 for the previous management of the fires and the seamless transition of management.   Weather and Fire Behavior: The weather is forecasted to be sunny, hot and hazy. Temperatures will be near 85 degrees with relative humidity down to 20%. Winds will be terrain driven 3-7 mph. The warming and drying could create smoldering fuels to kindle to flames by this afternoon. Active fire spread including flare ups with torching on slopes is possible. Expect active burning with isolated torching and rollout of burning fuels.   Closures: A Closure Area is in effect for the Miriam Fire on the Okanogan-Wenatchee and Gifford Pinchot National Forests.  An Emergency Area Closure was been issued for the Clear Fork Fire on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest adjacent to the current closure area associated with the Miriam Fire. Find maps and a list of affected sites at: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/article/6066/45371. The PCT is closed from Elk Pass to White Pass.  Please see the Pacific Crest Trail Association website athttps://www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/closures/ for current closure maps.   Local businesses remain open. Please consider showing your support by shopping in the local communities.   For Online Miriam Fire Updates visit: Inciweb at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6066/ Miriam Fire Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MiriamFire