The Big Hollow Fire burning in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest had grown another 820 acres as of Thursday morning, but fire crews say the wildfire is now 25 percent contained.
Cool and wet weather was expected to arrive in the wildfire area, which is 15 miles northwest of Carson and 7 miles southeast of Cougar, on Thursday night with possible thunderstorms, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Meteorologist Bob Tobin said during a community briefing Thursday evening that the low-pressure system forecast to reach the area should offer between 24 to 30 hours of potential rain, with rainfall totaling between six-tenths of an inch to a half-inch.
Don Strand, a fire behavior analyst, said a long duration of precipitation is necessary for the fire fuels to absorb moisture. Larger fuels, such as sticks 8 inches or larger, will still likely burn today while smaller fuels will be wet enough to not catch fire.
“The fire’s behavior will be similar to the past few days, but we expect it to be more subdued Friday,” Strand said.
The wildfire has burned a total of 22,973 acres, or nearly 36 square miles of wilderness.
On Wednesday, firefighters patrolled the control line around the fire along Road 57 and Road 58, “mopping up” smoldering spots when necessary, officials said. Crews continued to clear burnable vegetation from the S-1000 and S-6000 roads, and evaluated options to contain a spot fire within the Department of Natural Resources’
Siouxon block using the S-2000 road, the Forest Service said.
Fuels were also removed along two roads in the northwest portion of the fire in an effort to create yet another containment line. Officials said Road 54 and Road 5407 were prepared to serve as a southern containment line.
On Wednesday, crews finished structure protection work around the Government Mineral Springs cabins, which included sprinkler installation. They are continuing to monitor a fire in the Trapper Creek drainage.
The work on the S roads continued Thursday in an effort to prevent the fire from spreading farther west and to protect valuable timber, the Forest Service said.
An area to the north is being reopened for a company whose logging operation was halted due to the wildfire, officials said.
Firefighters will monitor a fire on a ridge west of the Wind River Highway, with the intention of suppressing any fires that may reach the road. The fire is currently being held along Road 201, around where intentional burnouts have been completed.
Overall, the interior of the fire has been slowly clearing, and its activity around the perimeter is minimal, with flames creeping and smoldering in ground fuels, Strand said.
The cabins at Government Mineral Springs remain under a Level 3 “Go” evacuation order.
Areas north and west of the fire remain under a Level 1 “Get ready” evacuation order, including Yale, Cougar, Northwoods and portions of the towns of Amboy and Yacolt.
Closures in the southwest portion of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest remain in effect and include most developed campgrounds, dispersed camping, and most forest roads and trails. The Washington Department of Natural Resources has issued closures for the Siouxon Block and Merrill Lake Natural Conservation Area.
Incident Commander Bob Schindelar said there is a lot of good news with “moisture on the horizon and a subdued fire.” The size of the fire should stay static over the next few days, he said.
Schindelar noted that people have been wondering when the fire will be extinguished, when they’ll have access to public lands and when to expect the evacuation notices to be lifted. Thursday’s rain is a turning point, but it’s still too early to answer those questions.
“It will take inches (of precipitation) before we’re given the opportunity to call this fire out,” he said.
