Your Hometown News Source
Your Hometown News Source
The Green Ridge and Lick Creek fires are close to joining about a mile east of the Bear Creek trailhead and Bear Cave Ridge area. Green Ridge has more than doubled from the 11,449 acres a week ago. There are 418 personnel on the fire, which started July 7 due to lightning.
DAYTON–The Green Ridge Fire grew to 24,091 acres and remains 15% contained, reports the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team Black on Tuesday, August 10. Monday's lighter winds and moderate temperatures provided an opportunity for firefighters to continue their efforts on the northeast side of the fire. The fire saw minimal growth. The lack of wind and an inversion layer caused the smoke to settle in the valley and it is expected to remain through Wednesday.
The Green Ridge Fire was 11,449 acres a week ago and fire boundaries are getting close together in the vicinity of the Bear Creek Trailhead.
Crews will continue to strengthen the fire lines north of the 22 (4022) Road, exploring all possible containment options as well as additional contingency lines on Tuesday. If weather conditions allow, firefighters will proceed with firing operations today to remove unburned pockets of fuel on the northeast side of the fire south of 22 (4022) Road. If weather is favorable, firefighters will use hand and aerial ignitions to slowly and strategically utilize fire to remove unburned fuels between the fire's edge and the existing fire line. Crews will continue to strengthen the containment lines on the southwest portion of the fire and scout for possible contingency line locations south of the fire's southern perimeter.
On the Lick Creek Fire, acreage burned remains at 80,421 acres and 90% contained. Smoke will continue to be visible as unburned pockets of vegetation inside the fire perimeter are consumed. Crews will continue to mop-up any interior pockets of heat and patrol lines as they can safely do so.
Rocky Mountain Team Black held a community meeting Tuesday in Pomeroy at the High School and Wednesday evening in Dayton at the Fairgrounds. If bandwidth allows, both meetings will be livestreamed on the Green Ridge Fire Facebook page. More information on these community meetings can be found on the Green Ridge Facebook page.
The weather is expected to warm considerably and will continue warming throughout the week. Temperatures will have highs between 70° and 75° along the ridges and mid-80s in the valley bottoms. Winds will be light from the southwest at 5-10 mph. Humidity will be lower today, dropping to 30%. Smoke information is available on Washington Smoke Blog at: https://wasmoke.blogspot.com/
Closures are in place on the Umatilla National Forest. All of the Pomeroy Ranger District and portions of the Walla Walla Ranger District near the Green Ridge and Lick Creek fires are closed. The full closure order and map is available on InciWeb: https://go.usa.gov/xFXhP
Garfield County currently has Level 2 and Level 3 evacuations in place. Columbia County currently has Level 3, Level 2, and Level 1 evacuations in place. For more information on evacuations, please visit https://go.usa.gov/xFQJ2 for full information.
A Temporary Flight Restriction is in place over the Green Ridge Fire and Lick Creek Fire. Wildfires are a No Drone Zone. If you fly, we can't. Whenever a drone is spotted near the fire all aircraft are grounded until we can be sure the drone is clear of the area. For more information, visit http://knowbeforeyoufly.org.
