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Yesterday: The Goat Rocks Fire area was enveloped in a smoke inversion for much of the day. This stagnant air moderated fire activity but restricted air operations due to poor visibility. A helicopter was able to drop water on the fire for a short period in the afternoon.

As the helicopter was returning to helibase, an unmanned aerial system (UAS or drone) was spotted near the fire. UAS incursions are very dangerous for aircraft working on the fire. Pilots may not see a UAS in time to avoid a collision, which may damage an aircraft and possibly cause a crash. A UAS too close to a fire requires a shut-down of ALL aerial operations.

Fire personnel worked on the western tip of the fire near Coal Creek. Minimal smoke was visible in this area by the end of Tuesday’s work shift. Engine crews on the northern edge near Forest Road 46 kept fire from crossing the road. Fire continued to spread in the upper Lake Creek drainage, with burning debris rolling downslope toward Forest Road 041.

Today: The smoky inversion is expected to lift in the afternoon and fire activity may increase as fresher air circulates into the fire area. When conditions allow for safe operations, helicopters will drop water in the Coal Creek and Lake Creek drainages to cool the fire.

Fire resources will continue to extinguish remaining hot spots in the lower Coal Creek drainage. Residual pockets of heat are likely to be found in places including thick duff layers, burning roots, and large logs. These may smolder for a long time without producing obvious smoke.

Personnel will be monitoring fire along Forest Road 041 in the upper Lake Creek drainage. Rocks and burning woody debris are rolling down steep slopes to the road, making work in this area very hazardous. As of early this morning, fire had not crossed the road.

Engines will work along Forest Road 46 near Dam Creek, keeping fire south of the road. Heavy equipment will be moving from the 46 system to Forest Road 1266 to start woody debris removal in that corridor. This debris is from cutting and piling brush and smaller trees along roads. Fuels reduction of this type prepares roads for use as fire lines to slow or stop fire spread.

Weather:  Today is expected to be the last day with warm, very dry conditions due to a high-pressure ridge over the Pacific Northwest. High temperatures are forecast in the 70s with relative humidity dropping to near 20%. On Thursday, onshore flow will start to bring cooler, more humid air into the region. A series of weather systems are forecast to bring rain and cooler temperatures starting Friday.

EVACUATION LEVEL 2 – BE SET!    

All areas north of Butter Creek are at Level 2 (Be Set) evacuation. This includes Upper and Lower Timberline, Goat Rocks, Riverdance, and parts of High Valley. This is precautionary due to Goat Rocks Fire behavior. Packwood proper is not under evacuation status at this time. See accompanying Public Information map.

Monitor https://bit.ly/LewisCountyAlerts or https://bit.ly/LewisCountyEMFB for changes.

Forest Closures: A road and trail closure within the Gifford National Forest is in place. Closure order: https://bit.ly/GoatRocksClosureOrder
Closure map: https://bit.ly/GoatRocksFireClosureMap