Washington State Department of Natural Resources is using Kelso’s airport to refuel and maintain helicopters battling the Huckleberry Ridge Fire, 20 miles southwest of Pe Ell.
Authorities say the fire, first reported Wednesday, saw slight growth on the Chehalis River East Fork Sunday night, as heavy logging slash, thick timber and steep terrain hinder crews ability to fight the blaze.
The fire has lessened about 50 acres according to the latest update, but only due to more accurate mapping, authorities report.
Inciweb.wildfire.gov states the fire in the connecting corners of Lewis, Pacific, and Wahkiakum counties was 293 acres as of Monday afternoon, 8 miles from the nearest structure and 11 miles from the nearest community.
However, the blaze — fueled by logging slash and timber, including grass — was still 0% contained.
Crews have been adding dozer lines to box in the fire, creating about 40% of the containment lines using existing roads and trails, the agency reports. They are removing fallen debris to keep roads open for fire traffic. No roads or trails have been closed so far.
The Williams Mine Fire on the eastern side of Skamania County is still burning about 13,082 acres, with 31% containment, based on a Monday update. The fire is in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, 3.5 miles northwest of Trout Lake. Forest Road 23, south of Forest Road 90, is closed while crews battle the blaze. Takhlakh Lake is also closed.
Helicopter help
Tim McKern, public information officer for the Western Washington Incident Management Team, said at least 300 personnel were fighting the Huckleberry Ridge Fire as of Monday, though the cause of the blaze is still undetermined.
McKern confirmed that there have been no injuries reported and no evacuations ordered. Still, people are asked to stay out of the area and be aware of local dangers, particularly as hunting season has started.
Washington State Department of Natural Resources is using a portion of the Southwest Washington Regional Airport to park, refuel, provide maintenance, and prepare aircraft for firefighting, said Joe Thorpe, the department’s aircraft operations manager.
They are not loading water at the airport. That is added at a water source, like a lake or river, closer to the fire.
Thorpe said at the peak of the fire, they used three Black Hawk helicopters and one Huey UH-1 for water drops, along with a Bell 206 helicopter for reconnaissance. Additionally, an airplane provided supervision, and two Q400 heavy air tankers were deployed.
On Monday afternoon, only a Black Hawk, Huey and Bell 206 were being used.
Craig Stommel, Southwest Washington Regional Airport manager, said firefighting efforts had not disrupted the airport’s daily operations.
Helpful weather
The red flag alerts in the Central Cascades and Southern Gifford Pinchot National Forest expired Saturday, with cooler temperatures and rain forecast through the week.
Pe Ell is forecast to have highs in the high 60s and low 70s, with rain Tuesday night into Wednesday night, which is expected to see a high of about 64.
Longview-Kelso is expected to see slightly higher highs, but also rain Tuesday night through Thursday, the National Weather Service reports.
A pollution advisory from wildfire smoke also expired Saturday and air quality in Longview, as well as the rest of the region, was reported as good Monday morning by the Southwest Clean Air Agency.
