OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — The Paradise Fire remained relatively quiet Sunday night into Monday morning, primarily consuming unburned “islands” inside the existing fire boundaries, said Donna Nemeth, spokeswoman for the National Forest Service.
“It burns in a patchy, mosaic pattern,” Nemeth said.
The fire in West Jefferson County remained at 1,025 acres Monday, with little or no growth thanks to weather patterns, Nemeth said.
The fire is located inside Olympic National Park on the floodplain and steep hillsides north of the Queets River near Paradise Creek, 13 miles northeast of Quinault.
Intermittent light rain fell on the fire area Sunday — without lighting strikes — and a smoke inversion layer also suppressed fire growth, Nemeth said.
The number of personnel assigned to control and contain the fire grew from 94 on Sunday to 105 on Monday, she said.
Nemeth said the Paradise Fire is fully staffed, and a new, large wildfire in the Wenatchee area is not expected to interfere with utilizing firefighters as needed.
She said Sunday’s slow fire spread allowed firefighters to set up a new communications system to improve contact with fire managers in the remote valley.
Satellite communications will allow firefighters to keep in closer contact with fire management officials at the incident command post located in Port Angeles, Nemeth said.
The unit improves safety conditions by giving the crews access to maps and creates more secure communications links in the event of an illness, emergency or other situation that requires increased coordination of fire management activities.
The current cost of fighting the fire has reached $794,000, according to a incident management report released Monday by the National Forest Service.
The report is issued daily by the Forest Service and includes information about all large fires in the U.S. under Forest Service management.
Members of the Pacific Northwest National Incident Management Organization, the fire management team leading the effort against the fire, and regional officials, including U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, are scheduled to meet for a briefing this afternoon in Port Angeles. It is not open to the public.
Olympic National Park has instituted a ban on open fires in the park’s wilderness backcountry, including all locations along the coast.
Campfires are permitted only in established fire grates at front country campgrounds. The burn restriction will remain in place until further notice.
Burn bans are in effect across the North Olympic Peninsula, including all areas of Clallam County, Jefferson County and the Olympic National Forest.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
