Single Publication

 9/3 Boulder Mountain Fire Update
Incident Commander - Cody Montgomery

Quick Facts
Boulder Mountain Fire
Approximate Size 1000 acres
Containment 0%
Total Personnel 107
Fire Danger Very High
Structures Lost
Primary – 0
Secondary - 0

The Boulder Mountain Fire started by lightning on Wednesday August 31, 2022 at approximately 8:30 pm. The fire is located in the Tacoma Creek and Boulder Mountain area 9 miles Northwest of Cusick, Washington. The fire is burning on Federal, State and Private land. The terrain is difficult and the fire is burning in heavy timber, slash, and beetle infested trees.

Dozers and heavy equipment focused yesterday on building roads and shoring up existing roads for better access to the fire. Firefighters were able to make significant progress and go direct (crews right on the fire line) with fire attack on some areas of the fire. Air attack was active in the afternoon with rotors (helicopters), LAT’s (large air tankers), and VLAT’s (very large air tankers) and a small lead plane for direction for the aircraft. The fire is active on all divisions and continues to be a challenge making access. While making access to the fire there are several factors that need to be considered. For example, when crews make access to the fire, they need to have what we call escape routes and safety zones established. This is due to fire behavior changing at a moment’s notice and crews needing to get out of the path of the fire. The acreage is now updated due to operations taking a flight over the fire this yesterday morning. The weather and smoke conditions were in our favor to get a good eye on the overall landscape of the fire. Crews continue to report in and be assigned to the fire.

Today crews will continue their work with dozers and other heavy equipment to get containment lines in and work on primary and secondary ingress and egress points. Aircraft will continue to be utilized as needed. The fire continues to be active with group torching, flanking and backing in many areas.

A cold front is expected to move through the area late morning to early afternoon. This front will affect wind direction and have gusts up to 30 mph and very little rainfall if any. Lightning activity is expected to be minimal. Once the front passes temperatures will continue to be above normal for the next several days.

Over the next few days, a Type 2 Incident Management Team will take over the fire from the Type 3 Team. This is due to the size, access, and complexity of the fire. The Type 2 team has access to additional resources and staffing.

With the Labor Day weekend upon us we ask that the public stay out of the area. There are several fire apparatuses and personnel working in the area of Tacoma Creek and Boulder Mountain. Please check the Colville Forest website for the most up to date closure information for campgrounds @ dnr.wa.gov and evacuation updates at: https://pendoreilleco.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Boulder-Mountain-Fire-Level-3-Evacuation-Area.pdf

Be sure to check before you travel to the area for a drive, hiking, or camping. There are several hazards that have been created from the fire. For your safety and the safety of our firefighters we ask you to stay clear of the area.

Fire information and the Incident Command Post is located at the Kalispel Pow Wow Grounds in Usk, WA. Fire information contact is Don Malone at (509) 822-8125 or you can also follow us on Facebook @NEWIMT3