Approximate Location
Basic Information
| Incident Type | Wildfire |
|---|---|
| Cause | Lightning |
| Date of Origin | Monday September 10th, 2012 approx. 03:00 PM |
| Location | 8 miles North of Orient, WA |
| Incident Commander | Robson |
Current Situation
| Total Personnel | 3 |
|---|---|
| Size | 188 acres |
| Percent Contained | 80% |
| Estimated Containment Date | Wednesday October 31st, 2012 approx. 12:00 AM |
| Fuels Involved | Pockets of heavy fuel mixed in with deep rock cliff bands, scree and boulders. |
| Fire Behavior | Moderate to low fire behavior. |
| Significant Events | Wind event of October 3, 2012 increased fire size by 50%. Fire continues to grow horizontally along cliff (north and south. Rain event over week of October 15 helped check the fire and reduce interior burning. |
Outlook
| Planned Actions | Crews were able to go direct on a lower portion of the fire. |
|---|---|
| Growth Potential | Potential for growth consisting of slow horizontal movement (north and south) along the cliff face with some movement as fire burnes dry moss and accumulated forest litter in rocky crags and chutes. |
| Terrain Difficulty | Steep, unstable, rocky cliff bands with large boulders and rock scree. |
| Remarks | Fire was controled on 10/24/2012 Additional low fire activity is expected to contiune within the perimeter of the Radio Fire until wet weather pattern remians in place. The fire is burning in steep, rocky cliffs 2 miles south of the Laurier border crossing and 8 miles north of Orient, Washington. Crews have completed a contingency fireline above the fire and prepped the area below the fire to limit the movement of this fire to the east and west. Helicopter water bucket drops were marginally effective at limiting the north south spread of the fire. The steep, rocky, rugged terrain makes it unsafe to allow fire fighters to directly attack the fire where it lies in deep rocks and cliff bands and limits the effectiveness of water drops from the air. Horizontal movement of the fire will continue due to pockets of dense fuel in the rocky outcroppings on the south and north end of the fire. Due to the difficult terrain and deep pockets of fuel, fire managers anticipate this fire will continue to have interior burning and smoking until wet weather arrives. No structures are threatened and crews will continue to staff this fire. Crews will continue to conduct suppression operation as necessary to help ensure the fire stays within the contingency lines. Further action by crews will be to directly attack the fire in places where they can safely access it. Smoke will be highly visible from HWY 395. No road closures are planned, though temporary traffic delays may occur near the fire. For more information, please call (509) 738-7700. |
