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 burning southward into the wilderness area in a fifteen-year-old fire scar in extremely steep terrain. As the fire consumes dead and downed timber from the previous fire, some of this material is falling and rolling downhill. The team is actively managing this hazard to ensure personnel safety. Firefighters are engaging the fire directly where possible and scouting opportunities to construct indirect fire containment lines. Firefighters are being assisted with helicopter water drops to cool down hot spots.
The fire size is estimated at 475 acres. The team is working on mapping the fire to determine an accurate size. Resources currently committed to the fire include a 10-person Wildland Fire Module, a Type 2 Initial Attack crew and a Type 1 Hot Shot crew, as well as a Type 1 helicopter.
To improve firefighter access, personnel from the Ranger District continue making repairs to Forest Service Road (FSR) 47, which was washed out during spring 2020 flooding.
A virtual community meeting will be held Thursday, August 27 at 6:30 p.m. In compliance with Washington COVID-19 regulations minimizing the size of gatherings, it will be broadcast Live on the Umatilla National Forest Facebook page. If someone does not have access to the Internet or Facebook, they may attend in-person at the Dayton School Gym parking lot across from City Park on South 2nd St. People must stay in their vehicles and roll down their windows to hear the presentations. We appreciate the public’s understanding as we work to fight fire in the pandemic environment.
Resources Threatened: 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. Please follow posts on https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/closures/7069/ for the latest updates.
Weather & Fuel Conditions: With clear skies and a warming and drying trend, fire behavior may increase. Temperatures will be mid-seventies to low-eighties with winds 4-9 miles per hour.
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