Tuesday August 5 Daily Update
Incident: Green Lake Wildland Fire
Released: 8/5/2008
YESTERDAY'S FIRE ACTIVITY: Some smoke was visible for a few hours from Omak and Okanogan on Monday as minor burnout operations and natural consumption occurred on small islands of previously unburned fuel in the interior of the fire. No heat was found again along the north perimeter of the fire. Only a few hot spots were detected on the west side of the fire; at the end of shift fire supervisors estimated they had completed 95% of the mop-up objective along that edge. Crews working along the Green Lake road were praised for their safe work practices.
Near the houses at the northeast side, crews also feel they have met 95% of their objective to put out all hot spots within 500 feet of structures. A skidgeon (an engine on tracks), was effectively used to deliver water to crews mopping up on the east side of the fire. Reduced risk of nighttime fire activity has allowed the scaling back of night shift to only patrol status. Fire personnel have been asked to leave the fire in a condition where only monitoring will be necessary after the team leaves.
Okanogan County Commissioners were briefed on the status of the fire by the Incident Commander. Commissioner of Public Lands Doug Sutherland, as well as DNR's Northeast Region Manager, called in specifically to praise the county Emergency Operations staff, Sheriff's Department, and responding Fire Districts for the collaboration, cooperation, and communication during the emergency. Public Safety and resources were protected, in a situation that could have had a different outcome, thanks to the competency of all who responded. It is a credit to the positive relationships that have been built among emergency response professionals in the area.TODAY'S PLANNED ACTIONS: About 130 personnel will be released from the fire today, as suppression objectives are reached on some portions of the fire perimeter. Mop-up, and gridding to ensure the mop-up is effective, are the primary tasks around the fire perimeter. Some crews and equipment will be dedicated to rehabilitating the fire lines that were built, to reduce the potential for erosion when rains occur. Fire personnel are available to assist local jurisdictions if any new fire starts are detected.
WEATHER: The forecast for today is even hotter and drier than Monday, with a high temperature of 95 degrees, and minimum relative humidity as low as 10%. Today, winds from the northeast of 2 to 5 mph in the afternoon and evening. Fuels are extremely dry. With this weather, any new fires that start have the potential for extreme growth and fire activity.
VEGETATION AND TERRAIN: The fire area has varied terrain from timber on steep, rocky slopes to flat ground with sagebrush and grass vegetation.
