Incident Overview

There will be a public meeting tonight, Saturday, from 7 to 8 PM at the PUD building, 2621 E. Johns Prairie Rd in Shelton. There will be an update on the fire situation and attendees will have opportunity to ask questions.

FIRE STATUS & RESOURCES

Acres: 216

Cause: Under Investigation

Containment: 40%

Total Personnel: 152

Serious Injuries: None

Crews: Four 20 person

Engines: 35

Dozers: 1

Water Tenders: 2

Helicopters: 2 available

Current Situation: The fire did not grow significantly yesterday despite the large amount of smoke yesterday afternoon. Most of the burning was interior. Crews did not finish the fireline around the fire last night, but expect to finish that today. Crews are working around the clock to contain the the fire. The fire is now 40% contained. The percentage of containment is not simply a measure of completed line, but a measure of secure line, that is line that has been burned out and there is little chance the fire will escape. The tedious task of mop up starts today with firefighters stringing hose and sprinkler lines around the fire. Since Johns Creek is salmon bearing, it will not be used as a water source. Water will be supplied by water tenders.

The Red Cross shelter that was set up at the PUD building closed yesterday afternoon due to lack of use. We are concerned about the amount of traffic and on-lookers around the fire area regarding safety. Fire managers are asking the public to get off the road and not impede fire traffic. Fire conditions are extreme right now due to the lack of rain for nearly 80 days. Fire managers are asking everyone to be extra careful. The best source of updated information regarding this and other fires is the Inciweb web site at: http://inciweb.org/incident/3291/

Weather: Similar to yesterday. Temps in the low 70’s, calm winds in the morning becoming NE 6-10 with gusts to 18 in the afternoon. Relative humidity 24%. Haines Index 5, moderate which means unstable atmospheric conditions that could cause increased fire behavior. Weather tomorrow will be similar to today with less wind.
The Powerline 2 fire is three miles north of Shelton WA. It started mid-afternoon on Thursday, October 4. It is burning in Scotch Broom and timber. Initial attack was made from local fire agencies that did a great job preventing loss of homes in the area. Several residences were evacuated, but all residents have returned to their homes. Agencies involved in the initial attack included all Mason, Thurston and Grays Harbor Fire Districts, Department of Natural Resources, Bonneville Power, Green Diamond Resources, and Manke Timber Co. Washington Interagency Incident Management Team #3 took over management of the fire today at noon Friday, allowing local fire forces to return to their normal duties. State Mobilization was approved Friday morning allowing fire resources from across Western Washington to come and assist. Thirty five engines were included in that group.

Basic Information Incident Type Wildfire
Cause Under Investigation
Date of Origin Thursday October 04th, 2012 approx. 02:30 PM
Location 3 miles north of Shelton
Incident Commander Dave Lafave

Current Situation

Total Personnel 152
Size 155 acres
Percent Contained 40%
Fuels Involved  10 Timber (litter and understory) 3, 4, 10
Fire Behavior  Fire continues to torch single trees, backing, creeping and smoldering.
Significant Events  Fire continued to burn actively down in the John’s Creek drainage today. We continued to go direct and started a firing operation on DIV Z to improve the line.

OutlookPlanned Actions  Direct line construction. 2. Continue to improve lines. 3. Prep structures. 4. Contingency plans.
Growth Potential  High
Terrain Difficulty  Medium

Remarks 
We continue to go direct on the fire with line construction, prep structures, protect commercial assets and continue contingency planning. The perimeter continues to grow on DIV A & B with firing operations on DIV Z. We will continue to meet our objectives as long as the resource orders are filled in a timely manner.

REPOSTED 0937 Hours

SOURCE: InciWeb