OLYMPIC NATIONAL FOREST — The advance of a wildfire in The Brothers Wilderness above Brinnon has been slowed to a “smoldering and creeping” crawl, as Mother Nature came to firefighters’ assistance.
Under cool, misting clouds, the Big Hump fire’s boundary grew only by 50 acres, to 1,280 acres, from Tuesday through Sunday, said Elizabeth Shepard, spokeswoman fire management team.
Helicopters were grounded because of poor visibility, so a team was scheduled to hike into the fire area in Olympic National Forest on Thursday, Shepard said.
“There is some concern for their safety because lookouts posted in the area have reported seeing and hearing large trees fall within the fire area,” she said.
“We call them rollers,” she added. “They roll downhill. They can hit people and spread embers.”
Many trails in The Brothers Wilderness remained closed north of The Brothers peak, but southern portions of the area reopened this weekend.
Some Brothers trails can be accessed from the Hamma Hamma River Drainage, including the 3.1-mile The Brothers Trail and The Brothers climbing routes.
Olympic National Forest Supervisor Dale Hom signed a closure notice for The Brothers Wilderness area Tuesday.
Violators can be fined $5,000 to $10,000 or imprisoned up to six months.
Under the command of Kelvin Thompson, the fire team assigned to the fire has moved its headquarters from the Brinnon Fire Department to the Hood Canal Ranger Station in Quilcene.
Only 16 people remain on the team Sunday, including a helicopter crew for reconnaissance and water drops.
The fire is located in the national forest about 10 miles southwest of Brinnon, five miles from the Duckabush River Trail’s eastern trailhead and about 16 miles southeast of Port Angeles.
The Big Hump Fire, sparked by an abandoned campfire Aug. 31, is named for a high point known as the “big hump” along the Duckabush River Trail.
A fire map updated several times each day at http://tinyurl.com/pdnbighump.
No crews are on the ground to fight the fire, which is located in steep, rugged terrain among second-growth and old-growth Douglas fir, cedar and hemlock.
The combined conditions on the Big Hump Fire of inaccessibility, very steep terrain, rolling debris and falling trees are unacceptable safety risks to firefighters, fire officials said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
