OLYMPIC NATIONAL FOREST — The Big Hump Fire, which is burning at least 155 acres in The Brothers wilderness west of Brinnon, will be allowed to burn itself out, but a flare-up Tuesday afternoon showed it won’t go peacefully.
Flames from the smoky Duckabush Valley were visible during a flare-up before the blaze settled down into its slow advance into the Olympic National Forest, said Ronda Bishop, spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service.
A community meeting for Brinnon-area residents will be held today at 6 p.m. at the Brinnon Community Center, 306144 U.S. Highway 101.
There, the public can meet Incident Commander Doug Johnson, who will brief residents on the latest information on the fire and answer residents’ questions, said Kathy Matsen, spokeswoman for the National Forest Service.
Johnson’s Central Oregon Incident Management Team assumed management of the Big Hump Fire — named after a “big hump” in the Duckabush Trail — on Tuesday morning.
Firefighters Tuesday were unable to get a helicopter in the air to map the new burn area, Bishop said.
Fire teams don’t know the new acreage of the fire, except that it is more than the 155 acres announced early Tuesday, she said.
The long-term strategy for the Big Hump Fire is to contain the fire north of the Duckabush River, east of the Olympic National Park boundary and south of the Dosewallips River, Matsen said.
Direct action on the fire will include slowing its forward movement by helicopter water drops.
Water sources will include the Duckabush River, the Dosewallips River and specific lakes approved by local resource advisers.
The fire, which is believed to have been sparked by an abandoned campfire Thursday, is expected to continue burning at a slow rate of spread until the first soaking rain or snowfall, Matsen said.
The “short team” of 10 fire management specialists is organizing fire control from a command post at the Brinnon Fire Station.
“It’s a very small team,” Matsen said.
The Oregon team was selected for this fire because they could manage the fire with a minimum number of top personnel, she said.
As of Tuesday, 165 personnel were assigned to the fire. They are no longer sending crews in to fight the fire on the ground because the terrain is very steep, said Donna Nemeth of Olympic National Forest.
Ground crew are setting up landing areas for helicopters, Matsen said.
Helicopter operations are located at the Hood Canal Ranger District office in Quilcene.
Two helicopters arrived Sunday, and additional helicopters have been requested, she said.
Fire managers ordered a flight Tuesday night with an infrared camera to determine fire movement and heat sources on the perimeter.
Firefighters had not yet contained any portion of the fire as of Tuesday afternoon, but the fire had slowed in growth considerably, Matsen said.
The fire exploded from three acres Thursday and Friday to more than 100 acres Saturday and increased to 150 acres Sunday.
On Monday, it grew by five acres, to 155 acres.
Tuesday’s flare-up was due to the warm afternoon temperatures and low humidity, Bishop said.
For the most part, the fire has remained low to the ground in a steep, heavily wooded area with old-growth Douglas fir, hemlock and red cedar.
Smoke will be visible from the fire for the remainder of the summer, and columns of smoke may be visible, Matsen said.
The fire is not expected to reach Olympic National Park boundaries.
The Big Hump Fire is burning approximately five miles inside the Brothers Wilderness Area along the Duckabush Trail.
Access into the fire area includes a five-mile hike in very steep, rugged terrain, Matsen said.
A deep buildup of needles, leaves and brush provides a large amount of fuel for the fire, she said.
________
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
