OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Despite spewing more smoke that settled into the Queets Valley and other drainages, the Paradise Fire spread incrementally late last week and threatened neither homes nor people, the National Park Service said.
Puffy white smoke, said to be the heaviest in two weeks, indicated a low-intensity fire fanned by light wind on the west edge of the blaze, officials said.
The smoke was visible from the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center and other locations on the North Olympic Peninsula.
A helicopter crew investigating a smoke report in the Quinault River drainage Friday found no fire.
Temps to be in 80s
The fire that started May 15 is in another cycle of hot, dry weather, with temperatures expected to climb into the 80s today.
A red flag warning of extreme fire danger continued for elevations above 2,000 feet, where unstable air conditions prevailed.
Clear skies are forecast to prevail through Tuesday night, with a slight chance of showers predicted for Wednesday.
Most of the fire activity late last week was “single-tree torching inside the fire’s edge,” according to incident commander Fulton Jeansonne, who flew over the area Thursday.
A lookout over the Queets drainage has been established with a geo-referenced map to identify any growth of the fire, the perimeter of which was 21 percent contained.
Firefighters were stationed at a helicopter base in the Clearwater drainage, ready to start fire-suppression actions if the fire crosses the Queets River to the south.
The Queets River Trail is closed at Bob Creek.
The National Park Service’s plan is to contain the fire north of the river and prevent it from spreading west along the drainage.
The long-range strategy is to let it burn unless it reaches a geographical feature where it can be fought.
Awaiting rain
Only drenching rains that may arrive this fall are expected to extinguish the fire, which has burned 1,786 acres of rain forest.
Areas scorched by flames are patchy, with some blackened trunks standing next to bushes bearing ripe salmonberries.
It is spreading primarily through thick duff on the forest floor and climbing tree trunks along the drought-dried lichen that hangs there. Flaming pieces of lichen then fall back down to extend the fire.
