Clarkston, WA – The Cougar Creek Fire continues to burn in rugged rangeland in Southeast Washington along the Washington – Oregon border, approximately 40 miles SW of Clarkston, WA. County, district, state, and federal crews are engaged in full suppression tactics to minimize the number of acres burned. The fire is now at 7% containment.
In addition to the crews engaging the fire on the ground, multiple aviation resources are playing an integral role in establishing containment lines. Some of the air resources assisting the incident include helicopters, Large Air Tankers (LATs), and Very Large Air Tankers (VLATs). To date, more than 24,000 gallons of retardant have been dropped, primarily on the northern edge of the fire where fire activity is more active. Helicopters and fixed wing aircraft work in close coordination with ground crews to perform high precision drops of water or fire retardant. Working in tandem, they can slow fire growth and extinguish hot spots.
Incident objectives include protecting assets such as timber, rangeland, and livestock by minimizing fire growth and acres burned. On the northeast corner, crews are building containment lines and strategically burning out fingers of vegetation ahead of the main fire. To the west, structure prep and protection is taking place and crews are working diligently to prevent the fire from crossing Wenatchee Creek. To the south, crews are controlling and monitoring fire spread along the Grande Ronde River system.
WEATHER: Weather will remain hot and dry well into next week. Temperatures will continue in the triple digits with relative humidity in the low teens. There will be some minor weather relief after the middle of next week, but it will still be hot with temperatures in the 80s. RH will remain in the teens through next week. With the exception of some afternoon diurnal wind gusts, winds will remain relatively light. This weekend’s extreme heat and dry conditions will continue to produce an environment that will support very active fire behavior.
SAFETY: There are evacuations in effect, please see the evacuation notice from Asotin County Sheriff and Asotin County Emergency Management. The county has established an animal shelter at the Asotin County Fairgrounds.
SMOKE: Smoke will continue to be moderate across the area near Clarkston, WA for the next few days. If you are “unusually sensitive” to particle pollution, consider reducing your activity level or shorten the amount of time you are active outdoors. Smoke levels can change rapidly depending on weather. Check current conditions on AirNow.gov.
CLOSURES: The Grande Ronde Road is closed from Troy, Oregon to the Highway 129 junction. Forest officials are temporarily closing the southeastern portion of the Pomeroy Ranger District located in Asotin County and small portions of Garfield County and Wallowa County on Umatilla National Forest Lands to ensure public safety. This temporary closure will also ensure the safety of firefighters engaged in operations to suppress the Cougar Creek Fire. Fire managers are continually assessing resource needs based on fire spread and behavior. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.