8/27/2018 Miriam Fire Update

Miriam Fire Update Monday, August 27, 2018 -- 9 a.m. Acres: Miriam Fire – 4,228 Clear Fork Fire -51 Percent Containment: 40%                                                                                                         Start Date: 07/30/18 SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:  Washington Southeast Interagency Type 3 IMT Team 1 (Team 1), Lonnie Click incident commander, has taken over the incident management of the Miriam and Clear Fork Fires. Team 1 would like to thank Northwest Interagency Incident Management Team 8 for their superlative work on managing the incident. Area Closures are issued and placed for the protection and safety of the public and firefighters.  Area Closures have been in place on the Okanogan-Wenatchee and Gifford Pinchot National Forests for areas, trails, and roads near the Miriam and Clear Fork Fires since August 8 and 15th. An interactive map on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest webpage, shows area closures. See the following website for more information and interactive map https://tinyurl.com/yb67jobt    Intrusions potentially have the effect of halting all fireline suppression activities. For your safety, please refrain from entering these closures. Personnel/Resources: 2-Type 2 hand crews, 3-Type 2 IA hand crews, 1-camp crew, 1- heavy lift helicopter, 2-medium lift helicopter, 1-light lift helicopter, 8-engines, 1-dozer, 6-water tenders; 281 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 Values at Risk: White Pass area and ski resort; homes and organizational camps at Clear and Rimrock Lakes; Wilderness; late successional reserve; northern spotted owl and other wildlife habitat; bull trout habitat; and state highway 12. Estimated Incident Containment or completion: 9/30/2018 Smoke Information: Smoke concentrations in the area have lifted with increased west winds.  For further smoke information visit http://wasmoke.blogspot.com/p/state.html or https://www.airnow.gov/ Current Situation on the Miriam Fire:  The Miriam Fire remains a full suppression fire. Cooler, moist weather has moderated fire behavior. The spot fire located on the east side of the Tieton River has a hose lay with sprinklers running around the fire perimeter to keep the spot in check; the spot has not grown. Minimum fire growth is anticipated for the entirety of the fire throughout the day. Current Situation on the Clear Fork Fire: A low intensity ground fire continues to spread gradually due to the rolling of burning debris. The burning material rolls down, becomes established, and then burns back up the steep slope creating spread. This fire will continue to be monitored closely with aerial resources. Weather and Fire Behavior:  A dry north flow will begin with clouds decreasing throughout the day resulting in scattered cloud cover and partly sunny weather. There will be a warming trend throughWednesday with temperatures rising to between 50-65 degrees throughout the day and into the evening. Humidity will decrease from between 50% on the ridge lines and 45% in the valleys. Smoldering will continue with the possibility of kindling ignition if high winds and sun dry out fuels. Flame length projections will be between 6-7 inches high. Mop up operations have commenced on the eastern flank of the fire and containment lines continue to be built. Evacuations: Evacuation levels remain the same. The need for these levels are evaluated daily.  Please see the Yakima County Office of Emergency Management Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/yakimacountyoemfor a full description. Closures: Area Closures are in effect on the Okanogan-Wenatchee and Gifford Pinchot National Forests.  Find maps and a list of affected sites at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6066/    Fire managers are aware of the upcoming hunting seasons and closures will be assessed frequently. Increased fire restrictions have been implemented on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. Please see https://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/fire-restrictions for a full description. The Pacific Crest Trail is closed from Elk Pass to White Pass.  A detour is available. Please see the Pacific Crest Trail Association website at https://www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/closures/  for current closure maps. A Temporary Flight Restriction remains in place over the two fire areas as a safety precaution to aerial firefighting resources. Please consult the notice to airmen for specifics. Please show your support to the community by shopping local. In the Pacific Northwest alone, nearly 2,000 human caused fires have occurred already this fire season. Please do your part to avoid one fewer wildfire. For Online Miriam Fire Updates visit: Inciweb at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6066/ Miriam Fire Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MiriamFire End