A wildfire ignited by lightning and burning in Olympic National Park was reported to be uncontained late Thursday afternoon, but rain is expected to help.
The fire, which started Monday, had burned 86 acres by Wednesday evening, said Olympic National Park spokesperson Molly Pittman. Conditions in the area are making updates on the fire's spread impossible until Monday, said state Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Thomas Kyle-Milward.
The area is expected to receive between 0.25 and 1.75 inches of rain through Sunday. The national park said the rain may constrain fire behavior but is unlikely to extinguish it.
There are no evacuation orders, and no structures have been damaged.
The fire is in the middle of a steep slope in a forested mountainous area 5 miles west-northwest of Mount Olympus, toward the Hoh River, Pittman said.
Helicopters, wildland fire engines and hand crews are responding to contain the fire, according to Olympic National Park officials. Firefighters decided it was not feasible to get firefighters directly from aircraft to the fire line because the fire line is too far from landing zones and trails that could serves as evacuation routes for the firefighters, according to the officials.
Fire crews did not identify any additional fires on a reconnaissance flight late Wednesday night, according to park officials.
The Hoh Rain Forest administrative site is about 6 miles from the fire's perimeter. The Hoh Rain Forest Visitor Center, campground, and trails remain open to the public.
The Lake of the Gods backcountry campsite is closed.
Olympic National Park implemented fire restrictions Thursday:
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