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Upper Ruby Fire Daily Update 08-23-2024
Publication Type: News - 08/23/2024 - 09:00
Upper Ruby Fire Daily Update August 23, 2024
Quick Facts:
Fire Perimeter: approx. 273 acres
Initial Start: 08/20/24
Location: About 10 mi. southwest of Ione, WA
Hazards: Timber snags, bees, soft road shoulders and narrow roads
Values at Risk: Private residences, ongoing timber sales
Cause: Undetermined
Containment: 0%
Personnel: approximately 300
Structures destroyed: 0
Evacuations: None
Road Closures: Ruby Creek Road (4 miles in from Hwy 20), Tacoma Creek Rd (about 11 miles west of Hwy 20), and Tacoma Divide Road (about 4 miles south of Hwy 20)
Ione, WA –
PUBLIC AND FIREFIGHTER SAFETY IS THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY.
The Upper Ruby Fire is in central Pend Oreille County about 10 air miles southwest of Ione, WA. It is burning in fuels remaining on the ground following logging activities and in heavily forested areas.
Yesterday, firefighters used heavy equipment and hand tools to build fireline. Air resources and ground crews worked in tandem to construct direct line. Aerial resources dropped water and retardant along the western flank for most of the day to cool areas where crews and equipment were constructing direct fireline. Winds from the east caused embers to ignite spot fires up to 1/8 mile away from the burning edge of the fire. Firefighters were aided by aerial heat detection capabilities that identified the exact location of spot fires as small as a coffee cup. All 9 detected spot fires were extinguished.
On the north flank, the terrain is less suited to heavy equipment and hand crews were able to construct fireline for much of the distance from the western to eastern flank along the slope above Ruby Creek.
Dozer-line construction, aided by feller-bunchers (to clear the thick trees), extended the eastern flank control line that was started during initial attack on Tuesday. Firefighters ignited small areas of fuels to bring the burned area up to the constructed fireline. Firefighting efforts continue to hold the southern flank, keeping fire from private property.
Fire-weakened and standing dead trees (snags), and a very high population of ground nesting bees, pose hazards to firefighters.
Weather today will be partly cloudy with predicted light winds from the east shifting southerly in the afternoon. A slight chance of wetting rain showers today increases for Friday night. Some thunderstorms with gusty winds up to 30 mph may pass over the fire area.
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Phone: 509-671-0625 (hours 8 am – 8 pm)
