Many Large Standing Trees Survive Fire
Incident: Langille Wildfire
Released: 8/5/2009
Langille fire:
The 485 acre Langille fire south of Randle, WA grew by only 15 acres Tuesday as its western edge backed down McCoy Peak toward Yellowjacket Creek.
Historically, large fires on the north end of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest burned, on the average, every 200 years or so. The 1918 Greenhorn fire burned with high intensity for miles where the Langille fire currently has burned with low to moderate intensity. Most snags, or standing dead sentinel trees, that survived the 1918 fires have also survived the Langille fire. The largest flames on the fire Tuesday came from jackpots, tangles of long-dead trees on the forest floor.
So far, the Langille fire has burned at different intensities on different weather days, said Fire Behavior Analyst Risa Lange-Navarro. It is leaving a patchwork of varying forest textures where the majority of standing trees remain, she said.
The nine-person Lewis and Clark Wildland Fire Module captures field data, which includes weather and fire activity observations. They worked in McCoy and Yellowjacket Creek drainages Tuesday.
Initial Attack by Cowlitz Valley Ranger District:
62 firefighters should "hammer and begin to wrap up" the 28 acre Riverview fire north of La Wis Wis, said Resource Unit Leader Marilyn Coleman, who dispatched fire resources throughout the lightning bust the last week.
Firefighters called the Meadow fire out at 12:30 p.m. and the Willie Creek fire out at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday.
The heavy helicopter that worked in the Cowlitz Valley this week was called to the 1,400 acre Box Canyon fire south of Warm Springs, Oregon, Tuesday afternoon. Three helicopters remain on duty in Randle.
Weather:
A trough is forecasted to visit the valley Wednesday, bringing west winds gusting to 15 mph. High temperatures will only reach the mid 70's, with a chance of showers Thursday.
