8/14/15 Baldy Fire Update

Cold front moves into Northeast Washington

Real test of established fire  lines at Baldy Fire may occur today with 40-60 mph winds

Ione, Wash. – An infrared flight over the 515-acre Baldy Fire last night revealed the fire area to be mostly cold, with 23 small pockets of smoldering fuels in the interior still burning. These pockets are primarily ground fuels, well away from the fire-line perimeter.  Outflow winds from a cold front bringing thunderstorms predicted for this afternoon will boost fire activity and possibly bring down some of the standing, dead trees inside the fire area. They are not expected to cause spotting outside of the control lines.

Firefighters continue to mop up inside the Baldy Fire perimeter and monitor the fire activity. The control lines are plumbed with hose lays and firefighters are able to control flare-ups they observe near fire lines.  Air temperatures are expected to be much cooler and humidity to increase today. Equipment and personnel excess to the needs of the fire are being demobilized or reassigned to other incidents.

The cold front is moving over northeast Washington today from the southwest, bringing potential high winds up to 60 miles per hour, hail and lightning. A red flag warning for abundant lightning and strong winds has been issued by the Spokane Weather Service.

Extremely low humidity and high temperatures over the past several weeks have dried out the forests, making them extremely susceptible to wildfires sparked by lightning.  Last night, 28 lightning strikes occurred within 20 miles of the Baldy Fire. There are at least 35 new fires in the Colville National Forest.

Two other major fires were detected in the Colville National Forest last Tuesday.  Yesterday, they grew in size significantly in hot, dry, unstable conditions.  The Stickpin Fire, burning in the high, remote country east of the Kettle Range, grew to over 7,500 acres. The Tower Fire, burning on South Baldy Mountain, grew in size in the late afternoon.

The Nation and the Pacific Northwest are now under Preparedness Level 5 (PL5), the highest fire preparedness rating. PL5 allows more federal and state employees to be available for mobilization if needed and PL5 has only been issued 5 times in the past 10 years. A Type III organization led by incident commander Peter Meyer will assume command of the Baldy Fire on Monday morning, August 17, 2015.