A Report From The Ground
Incident: Langille Wildfire
Released: 8/18/2009
Crews report back from Langille Fire interior
(Randle, WA) - A crew hiked into the interior of the Langille Fire and reported that conditions on the ground are highly variable. "We saw some areas where all of the forest litter was intensely burned and some areas where the fire had moved through very lightly or not at all. Generally, it appears that a nice mosaic will be created" stated Valentijn Hoff, a firefighter with the Lewis and Clark Wildland Fire Module.
The Langille Fire began high on the ridge near McCoy Peak as lightning passed through in late July. Its growth has been negligible in the last week as cooler temperatures and rain kept flames to a minimum. The greatest intensity of the burn appears to be on the steepest slopes, however the firefighters who hiked in reported seeing no ground less than 50% in slope, with the majority of the hillsides exceeding 70% slopes.
There is evidence of small mammals still present in the fire area; piles of torn apart pine cones and small tracks were visible on the blackened soils. The soils are beginning to become covered with a fine layer of needles and fine sticks, as scorched trees shed needles and limbs. Generally, however, canopy cover remains thick in many portions of the area.
While there is little flame present today, smoking logs are everywhere and firefighters anticipate that as the weather warms and dries, small 'jackpots' of fuel will begin to burn. "Future weather conditions and time will tell, but because the concentrations of fuel are relatively dispersed, if the weather doesn't become extremely hot and dry, we can anticipate little change in fire behavior as we transition into fall weather and shorter days" stated firefighter Justin Randall.
The fire is being managed once again by Gifford Pinchot National Forest. "The team that was brought in to manage the Langille Fire initially has given us a solid base from which to continue our strategies" stated Gail Bouchard, who took over command of the fire Monday.
Updates will be posted as conditions change at http://www.inciweb.org/
Watch the Langille fire through our mountain top cameras at: http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/
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