Wednesday July 16 - Inchelium Complex Daily Update
Incident: Abraham Canyon Wildland Fire
Released: 7/16/2008
Both the Abraham Canyon Fire and the Wilmont Fire were declared 100% contained Tuesday evening.
YESTERDAY'S FIRE ACTIVITY: Fire activity was quiet even with the gusty winds that hit both fires in the afternoon. Personnel continued to secure fire lines and mop up hot spots throughout the fires. Hand held infrared scanners were used today to help locate hot spots along the fire lines.
Abraham Canyon: Two crews and six engines worked to mop up 200 feet inside the fire perimeter. Additional mop up was completed to allow the power crews to restore power to the Elbow Lake Road home on Wednesday. A Tribal Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation Team (BAER team) completed assessments of the fire area on Tribal lands, and equipment will start road rehabilitation efforts on Wednesday.
Wilmont: Four crews and four engines worked to secure the fire lines and started mop up along the perimeter. Crews felt confident they extinguished all hot spots within 50 feet of the fire perimeter.
TODAY'S PLANNED ACTIONS:
Abraham Canyon: Fire personnel will continue mop up with the objective to extinguish all fire within 200 feet of the perimeter and extinguish all significant hot spots interior to the 200 foot perimeter, prior to returning the fire to the local agencies. They will again utilize hand held infrared sensors to locate hot spots. The Tribal BAER team will begin rehabilitation efforts on their lands by installing water bars and leveling the berms on the old access roads that were reopened for the fire, that are no longer needed. Wilmont Fire: The objective for today is to verify yesterday'extinguish hot spots within 200 feet of the fire line. They also will utilize hand held infrared scanners to locate hot spots.WEATHER: Winds are predicted to be light from the west or up valley/up slope in the morning 3 to 7 mph, and some gusts to 15mph over the ridges in the afternoon. The high temperature is forecast to be 80 to 85 degrees, with minimum relative humidity 18% to 24%. Looking out to Friday there is a small possibility of thunderstorms to the north with gusty winds over the fires.
VEGETATION TYPE AND TERRAIN: These fires range from dense stands of heavy timber to scattered trees on rolling to very steep slopes.
These fires are no longer considered a threat, but this is still the beginning of fire season in Washington. Citizens can contribute to firefighter and public safety, and protect their belongings, by taking time and personal responsibility to ensure there is defensible space around your homes. Links below provide suggestions for actions you can take now to ensure you and your valuables have the best chance if another fire occurs in your area.
Recommended Sources of Fire Preparedness Info:
Firewise Communities Program: http://www.firewise.org/
How to prepare for evacuation: http://www.keepgreen.org/assets/BePrepared.pdf
Living With Fire: http://www.livingwithfire.info/
