BRINNON — A week of rains slowed a fire in eastern Olympic Mountains wilderness, but there are still plenty of areas burning
A pair of helicopter flights mapped the Big Hump Fire in The Brothers Wilderness of Olympic National Forest at 1,238 acres early last week and 1,243 acres about six days later, said Donna Nemeth, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman.
“And that’s before the rain,” Nemeth said.
Burn area estimates were revised downward from a Sept. 17 estimate of 1,280 acres.
The rain has stopped the fire’s spread, but there are still spot fires burning, Nemeth said.
“It’s mostly in 1,000-hour fuels,” she said.
Thousand-hour fuels are big logs and thick forest undergrowth and debris that after a heavy saturating rain take 1,000 hours of dry, sunny weather to become flammable again.
Four weather stations set up around the fire showed 0.23 inches of rain in lower elevations; as much as 3.11 inches fell at higher spots, she said.
Nemeth said the fire, which is mostly burning in middle elevations, probably received a little more than an inch of rain.
That’s not enough to put out deep-burning embers, she added.
The fire will probably burn for at least another two or three weeks, until fall rains thoroughly soak the area.
The Duckabush River Trail remains closed indefinitely, and parts of The Brothers Wilderness is still off-limits to the public.
The Big Hump Fire, named for a rise in the Duckabush trail called the “big hump” by hikers, was started by an abandoned campfire Aug. 31.
The fire burned through trail areas, and there is a danger of falling trees, rolling logs and rockfalls.
Once the fire is completely out, crews will assess what needs to be done to make the area safe, Nemeth said.
There is no estimate for when the trail will reopen, she said; it entirely depends on what the foresters find.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
