Submitted by National Parks Service
The warmest day of the week so far created more active fire conditions on the Paradise Fire on Wednesday. In addition to increased fire and smoke in the Paradise Creek drainage, a second area of active fire behavior showed up in the next drainage to the east. Both of these areas of fire activity are creeping up the flanks of Pelton Peak, and both created the most smoke seen in recent days. The Wildland Fire Modules on the ground utilized their recently delivered satellite communications unit to determine the location of a hot spot picked up by an overnight infrared flight. Air operations for the day consisted of shuttling one module out of the remote fire location and rotating a new module into the fire zone.
The hot and dry conditions are of concern to firefighters again today. Temperatures will be higher and relative humidity will be lower, resulting in more active fire behavior and additional smoke. Residents in the Forks area reported seeing more smoke on Wednesday, and that could happen again today. With multiple fires burning in the Pacific Northwest, including Alaska and British Columbia, it is often difficult to determine which fire is producing smoke in which areas. Residents with health conditions exacerbated by smoke should take precautions.
With the July 4th holiday weekend approaching, Olympic National Park officials would like to remind the public that there a ban on open fires in the park’s wilderness backcountry, including all locations along the coast. Campfires are permitted only in established fire grates at established front country campgrounds. Camp stoves may still be used in the park’s wilderness backcountry, but should be operated well away from flammable vegetation and forest litter. Because of the extreme conditions on the peninsula, Olympic National Forest has also implemented fire restrictions. Fireworks are illegal on federal and state lands. Check local regulations for other recreation areas. Olympic peninsula communities welcome visitors, and ask people to celebrate and recreate responsibly, keeping fire danger in mind.
Information on this fire is available on Inciweb . For real time information, visit our Facebook page. For current information about visiting Olympic National Park, as well as information about the history and role of fire in the Olympic ecosystem, please visit the park’s website.
