On Thursday, in the field just west of White Pass Junior Senior High School, firefighters from across the country were busy building a small town. In one neighborhood, there are tents. In another, a medic team. Over here, a kitchen.
Teams include firefighting crews with various specialties, strategists, meteorologists, commanders, information officers and many others.
They’ve come to join the Cowlitz Complex Fire, a joint name given to the more than 40 fires burning across the Gifford Pinchot National Forest after an Aug. 25 lightning storm. All totaled on Friday, they’re burning 589 acres and are 5% contained thanks to a 427-person crew.
Twenty-three of the fires are fewer than 5 acres, five are more than 5 acres and two are more than 100 acres. The rest of the 40-plus reported are awaiting confirmation.
The Rocky Mountain Area Complex Incident Command team began early this week and will stick on the job until a larger response is needed, resources can be sent elsewhere or 14 days have passed — whichever comes first.
While Shawna Hartman, one of the team’s public information officers, knows that plenty of people would like a comprehensive list of the forest fires along with acreage and containment percentages, “We’re still trying to compile that data,” she said on Thursday.
When teams can use aircraft for infrared mapping, Incident Commander Jay Miller said, they could spot a cigarette butt on the ground from 20,000 feet up.
“Don’t ask me how it does it, but it can decipher from an elk to stump hole. (It’s) very accurate,” Miller said, later adding, “And, getting better and better, too.”
Above the region’s mineral soil — the kind of dirt that doesn’t burn — is a layer of duff (decaying vegetation), then, a layer of ash from the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, and another layer of duff atop it, Miller said.
Infrared mapping can detect heat even on the lowest layer of duff, Miller said, but between rain, smoke and limited resources, air operations are limited.
The best way to get a fire “out,” which is different from being “contained,” is to get down to the mineral soil. But, firefighters can’t do that on steep terrain. This week’s rain, as much as it helped slow fire behavior, also prevented crews from safely accessing forest fires in tough areas.
“Water is great, but you need people working. We can’t walk around like that. It’s just a slip and slide, people (would be) getting hurt sliding off the hill,” Miller said.
To tackle such a complicated set up of fires, the incident is broken down into four quadrants. Most of the verified fires have a staff of some kind, but priorities are given to those that threaten public safety, private property and resources, which can be natural or otherwise.
Ahead of the Packwood Flea Market, the incident command team worked with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office and Division Emergency Management to map out a plan. Fortunately, Miller said, he’s “not concerned” about the community being required to evacuate.
The top two quadrants of the complex fires, which include Packwood, have seen the most progress, as the two have the most priorities requiring protection.
The Carlton Ridge Fire, about 7.5 miles northwest of White Pass, is contained. It required level 3, “Go now” evacuation orders for two households earlier this week, but those were lifted quickly. While a fire being “out” means you could literally stick your fingers in the dirt, containment means the blaze is very unlikely to leave a designated area.
Likewise, the South Fork Fire, the closest one to Packwood, is contained and in “monitor and patrol” status.
Among others that have been prioritized due to their proximity to a community, the Grassy Mountain Fire, 4.5 miles northeast of Randle, is unstaffed due to the steep, difficult terrain. A strategy is currently being developed to fight the fire, Miller said.
Crews are assessing access into the Deer Creek Fire, about 2.7 miles north of Forest Road 52 (which starts in Packwood as Skate Creek Road), near Glacier View Trailhead. A dozer is improving firefighter access to the Berry Fire, located on Allen Mountain, about 8 miles north of Randle, a Friday news release stated. The Skate and Silver fires, both located about 6.5 miles west-northwest of Packwood, are contained.
The Yew Fire, near the intersection of Forest Roads 47 and 4773, is 50% contained.
The largest of the complex fires, nearer to Mount Adams, is also unstaffed due to access issues. Known as the Snagtooth Fire, it is also near the Spencer Quartz Fire. Together, the two have reached more than 400 acres. According to a Friday morning news release, a landslide-hit road on the way to those fires was recently repaired, and crews will begin working on those two blazes soon.
Southeast of U.S. Highway 12, crews have established containment around the Jackpot Creek Fire and are currently creating plans for the Mission Fire, which is 10 miles south of Packwood.
Fire restrictions remain in effect in Lewis County and throughout the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. There is also a temporary flight restriction in place as drones prevent aircraft from participating in firefighting efforts.
The incident command team has multiple channels set up for information, including a phone line and a Facebook page.
“We want to finish the job,” Miller said on Thursday. “We come here, and it’s kind of a bug bite. You get bit by this and you feel obligated to the community. You feel obligated to your team members. You feel obligated to the firefighters. … Absolutely, you want to finish the job.”
Confirmed fires listed at less than 5 acres include the Adams Fork, Allen Mountain, Bertha May, Berry, Blue Lake, Cougar Gap, Davis Creek, Davis Mountain, Deer Creek, Horseshoe, Klickitat, Lake Creek, McCoy Creek, Mission, Pothole, Silver, Skate, South Fork, St. Michael, Twin Sisters, Willame and Yew fires.
The Bear Creek, Carlton Ridge, Grassy Mountain, Jackpot Creek and Sanctuary Rock fires are listed at more than 5 acres, while the Snagtooth and Spencer Quartz fires are the only two that have reached more than 100 acres.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Cowlitz Complex Fires information phone line: 360-208-8075 between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Email: 2023.cowlitzcomplex@firenet.gov
Online: Cowlitz Complex Information on InciWeb, https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cowlitzcomplex/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GPNF
