Rattlesnake Fire Daily Update - Aug. 28, 2020

Friday, August 28, 2020

Daily Update 9:00 a.m.

Fire Information Line: 458-207-0058

Email: 2020.meacham@firenet.gov

Incident Commander: Mike Almas, Northern Rockies Incident Management Team

InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7069/

The Rattlesnake Fire is burning in the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness on the Pomeroy Ranger District in Washington. The fire started during a thunderstorm on August 19. It is located approximately twenty miles south of Pomeroy and thirteen miles southeast of Dayton. Mike Almas’ Northern Rockies Type 2 Incident Management Team (IMT) assumed command of the Rattlesnake Fire at 6:00 a.m. Monday, August 24 and is managing it as part of the Meacham Complex.

The fire is estimated at 475 acres and is burning southward into the wilderness area in a fifteen-year-old fire scar in steep terrain. The fire is creeping and backing, continuing to burn through some heavier fuels, brush, natural regeneration timber and stringers of timber, but also burning itself out in some areas.

Today, firefighters will strengthen and improve the west flank hand line along the Rattlesnake Trail. They will continue to cold-trail and improve the hand line along the east flank, checking for hot spots. Firefighters will continue line construction on the south end of the fire and go direct where possible. Crews with heavy equipment will continue improving a contingency line along the 4712 road east of Ladybug Campground. A Type 1 helicopter is assisting with water drops to cool hot spots.

Several Type 2 crews, a Type 1 Hot Shot crew, several Grangeville smokejumpers and various other resources are currently committed to this fire, including a Type 1 helicopter.

Resources Threatened: Private lands, wilderness, recreation and a threatened and endangered fish species are being protected.

Evacuations and Closures: Currently there are no evacuations in place. A portion of the forest is closed due to the fire. This includes the closure of FSR 4700 from the bridge to the intersection of 4712 and 4713, FSR 4712 and FSR 4713. Panjab Trail 3127 and Rattlesnake Trail 3129 are closed, as are Panjab and Ladybug Campgrounds. An additional order was issued August 26 to close Tucannon Road, including Forest Service Road 4700 from milepost 9.9 until terminus, and the entireties of Forest Service Roads 4712 and 4713. Please follow posts on https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/closures/7069/ for the latest updates.

Weather & Fuel Conditions: Sunny with patchy smoke and haze. Warm temperatures with slightly increased fire behavior. A wind event is expected over the weekend, with 10-14 mile per hour winds with gusts up to 20 miles per hour.

PLEASE DRIVE RESPONSIBLY: The access road to the Rattlesnake Fire (FS 47) is heavily used by the public for recreation. The safety of firefighters, fire managers and the public is critical. With increased fire traffic and the need to access the area safely, everyone is asked to slow down when driving in this vicinity, yield to fire vehicles where possible, and avoid distracted driving. Please help us keep everyone safe as crews work on this fire.