North Cascades Fire Update August 6

Date: August 6, 2009
Contact: Kerry Olson, 360 854-7302

No new fires have been discovered in North Cascades National Park Complex since Monday, August 3^rd. Continuing warm weather has allowed several of the fires to continue smoking. General haze in the Park area is due to fires all around the area, not just because of fires in the Park. Both the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie NF and the Okanogan-Wenatchee NF have numerous small fires, and there are several large fires burning in southern and southwestern British Columbia.

The following fires are being suppressed
The Agnes Fire is about an acre, located on the boundary of the Park and Forest in Agnes Creek , west of Stehekin. The fire was suppressed by 8 rappellers and water drops from helicopters. The rappellers will be walking out today, August 6 ^th .

The Rhode Fire is ¼ acre, located near Colonial Campground. A helicopter dropped water on it on Tuesday, due to its proximity to the campground and Highway 20.

The Crapper Fire is 2 acres. The fire is located about one mile southeast of Newhalem and the North Cascades National Park Visitor Center, and received water drops on Wednesday.

The Flush Fire and Tank Fire are both small fires discovered Aug 1 near the Crapper Fire, just south of Newhalem. Fires are being suppressed due to their proximity to the infrastructure around Newhalem. The Flush fire had water drops on Wednesday.

Fire personnel have suppressed 8 fires during the lightning storms of the last 2 weeks.

The following fires are being managed by Fire personnel
The Brush (3 acres) and Easy (less than ½ acre) Fires are both located on either side of Brush Creek, about 3 miles southeast of Copper Mt. Lookout.

The Elija Fire is approximately 70 acres, located 4 miles above Highway 20, on the east side of Panther Creek. It has been the most active of the managed fires. Smoke is settling into the Highway Corridor and the lakes.

The Fourth of July Fire is ½ acre, located in Panther Creek.

The Panther Creek Fire has continued to burn down to and along Panther Creek to the west – away from Highway 20. The fire is now estimated to be 230 acres in size, and has been more active in the last two days.

The Cascade Drainage Fire is 2 acres, located southwest of Boston Basin , above the Cascade River Road . It was active and smoking on Wednesday.

The Bouck Fire is 1/10 acre, located near Bouck Lake .

The Luna Pilot Fire is one acre on the northeast flank of Luna Peak , and was active on Monday.

TRAIL CLOSURES:
The Panther Creek Trail is closed from the trailhead on Highway 20 to Fourth of July Pass, until further notice.

The Brush Creek Trail is closed from Whatcom Pass to the Chilliwack River , until further notice.

Except for these trail closures, Park visitor facilities have not been affected by any of the fires.

For current fire information, contact the North Cascades Visitor Center in Newhalem (206-386-4495), the Wilderness Information Center (360-854-7245) in Marblemount or visit:
www.nps.gov/noca/parknews
To learn more about wildland fire in the National Park System, go to: www.nps.gov/fire/fire/fir_wildland.cfm
For updates on wildland fires throughout the nation, visit: www.inciweb.org or www.nifc.gov/fire_info.html