Cleanup to Begin on Cold Springs Blaze, but Small Fires Persist
By Phil Ferolito, Yakima Herald-Republic, Wash.
Jul. 22–Having now made significant progress against the Cold Springs Fire southeast of Mount Adams, crews expect to start the long mop-up operation Thursday.
Responsibility for the fire will be returned to crews under the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, which could spend weeks monitoring and suppressing the remaining flames and embers, said Northwest Coordination Center spokeswoman Carol Connolly.
Meanwhile, firefighters continued working Monday to contain two new small fires near the Cold Springs location.
On Sunday, firefighters were sent to a five-acre blaze at Big Lava Bed just east of Mount Adams, and a half-acre fire at Sheep Lake on the north side of the mountain.
It’s not clear how the smaller fires started, but it could have been lightning strikes or spotting from the larger Cold Springs Fire, Connolly said.
On the main blaze, crews this weekend managed to carve fire breaks around most of the fire that’s blackened more than 7,980 acres. The fire is now more than 75 percent contained.
“They’re making incredible progress,” Connolly said.
The blaze forced the closure of trail heads, roads and other recreational areas.
Closures include the South Climb, the main climbing route for Mount Adams. Part of the fire is burning on the Yakama reservation, where tribal leaders recently ordered the closure of all areas west of the Klickitat River including Bird Creek, Mirror Lake and Bench Lake.
It’s not clear how long those areas will remain closed, Connolly said.
“I think it could change daily depending on the activity (firefighters) have there,” she said.
Mop-up could take a while because crews must deal with large piles of burning slash left by recent logging.
More than 1,096 firefighters from federal, state and tribal agencies are working on the fire that’s burning in rugged terrain with stands of lodgepole and subalpine fir.
–Phil Ferolito can be reached at 577-7749 or pferolito@yakimaherald.com.
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