Single Publication

Goat Rocks Fire
September 20, 2022
 
Overview: The Goat Rocks Fire continues to burn 1.5 miles northeast of the town of Packwood, Washington in and around the Goat Rocks Wilderness. Crews continue to thin fuels along roads and chip fuels cut from around structures. Additionally, crews will evaluate an opportunity to apply fire in a small area along the 4610 road to better secure the line protecting the town of Packwood. There is a possibility that smoke may be visible should burning occur. Fire managers continue to prioritize firefighter and public safety. 

Firefighting Activity: Yesterday, crews worked to complete line construction along Forest Road 041 south of the fire. They removed excess trees, masticated underbrush, and chipped material cut when hand line was constructed. Other crews also chipped cut material around the Upper Timberline neighborhood and Forest Road 046. A small test burn in the Coal Creek drainage was conducted as an observation of the fire activity. A test burn involves setting a small fire in a controlled area to observe the potential fire behavior in a larger burn operation.  

Today, resources on all divisions of the fire will continue chipping and removing vegetation from around structures and forest roads to improve the existing fuel breaks. Additionally, after the successful test burn yesterday, firefighters may be evaluating a potential burn operation above Coal Creek to clean up an area of unburned fuels between the wildfire and the Timberline community. This burn is intentional and intended to dispose of fuels that would otherwise be unsafe, costly, and time intensive to have removed. Packwood residents may smell and see more smoke in the area. This burn will not take place until the temperature and humidity values fall within a specific range where conditions are favorable; if conditions go outside that range, fire managers will not continue the burn. 

Forest Closures: For information on current road and trail closures, you can go to this link: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd1060181.pdf    

Evacuations: All of Packwood and areas southwest of Butter Creek, including High Valley, have had their evacuation orders lifted. Areas northeast of Butter Creek and north of US-12, including Lower Timberline and Goat Rocks, are still at an Evacuation Level 1 (Be Ready). Upper Timberline remains at an Evacuation Level 2 (Be Set). 

Fire Restrictions: Campfire bans and other use restrictions are in place across the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Campfires are allowed within certain campgrounds identified on: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/giffordpinchot/alerts-notices. 

Weather: The warming and drying trend will continue today with humidity values dropping into the upper 30% range, and temperatures rising into the 70s. Winds will continue out of the east, following the terrain and potentially gusting up to 15-20 miles per hour. With easterly winds, there will may be more smoke in Packwood as the winds blow over White Pass and push the smoke into the Cowlitz River Drainage. 

Public Safety:  National Preparedness Month (NPM) is an observance each September to raise awareness in  

the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies that could happen at any time. The 2022 theme is “A Lasting Legacy.” To learn more visit: https://www.ready.gov/ 

Donations: Northwest Incident Management Team 10 would like to thank the community for all your generous offers to provide donations. Firefighters are well-provisioned. Other ways you may help include driving cautiously to ensure firefighter safety, post thank you signs within the community for firefighters to see or donate to your local Red Cross, Lewis County Fire District #10 (Packwood) and the Wildland Firefighter Foundation. 

Sign-up For Alerts: To receive alerts from Lewis County in the case of an emergency, sign up at https://lewiscountywa.gov/departments/emergency-management/lewis-county-alert/