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What a difference a day makes. The photo at left was taken
9-20-07, 1 p.m.; right photo taken 9-21-07, 11 a.m. Underwood fire
September 21, 2007,
updated at 5 p.m.
By SUE RYAN
News staff writer Hot spots continue
to flare up at the Broughton fire
in Skamania County on Friday afternoon, as crews continue to battle the 150-acre fire. Five homes burned and 60
more remain under mandatory evacuation.
Friday afternoon the fire was
downgraded from a level 3 to level 2; three homes remain on
stand-by status to evacuate. The 60 residents who were evacuated
will be allowed to return after 6 p.m.
As of 5 p.m. the fire was 60 percent contained, according to
officials.
Throughout the afternoon, the steep hillside would be
clear of smoke for short periods of time and the skies free of
helicopters. But then small fires would break out and plumes of
smoke would resume.
“We have an additional 100 (homes)
under an emergency notification. That means you need to be
prepared to leave on short notice; they are to the east side of
the fire,” said Chuck Turley, fire information officer with
Washington Department of Natural Resources.
He is at incident command
headquarters at the Spring Creek Fish Hatchery, which is closed to
the public.
“Our current estimate is 150 acres
but it wouldn’t surprise me to see it change during the day,” said
Turley.
He said the fire remains at zero
containment Friday morning but how much the fire will grow or not
depends on the Gorge winds in the afternoon.
View more photos
near
the blaze
Helicopter battles
fire
“Winds are supposed to be a little lighter; it’s going to be
warmer, temperatures in 80 degrees and lower humidity,” he said.
“That is not good news; how we do today is going to be very
dependent on what happens with the wind.”
State Highway 14 will also have
periodic closures while the fire is being fought to allow
helicopters to refill buckets and hoses. Because of strong winds
Thursday, the planes dropping retardant loads were called off.
They may resume operation Friday.
The fire began about 11:30 a.m.
Thursday morning below Cook Underwood Road near Burlington
Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks near the old Broughton Mill
site. Turley said several fire investigators are looking into the
cause, which has not been determined at this time. Highway 14 will
also be closed periodically to allow helicopters to dip buckets
into the White Salmon River.
Three helicopters
continued to dump water on fires Friday morning on the steep
hillside uphill from Highway 14..
Firefighters from both
sides of the Columbia River responded to the wildfire Thursday.
Crews battled the fire throughout the afternoon and it
continued to burn as darkness fell over the area Thursday night.
In the early afternoon, emergency crews removed fishermen from the
nearby White Salmon River so helicopters could refill their water
buckets in the river. The crews had been using the Columbia River,
but were hampered by wind gusts. West winds of more than 30
mph were reported in the area. At about 5:30 p.m. winds had died
down, allowing the helicopters to resume collecting water from the
Columbia River, much closer to the fire. By about 6:45 p.m., only small pockets of smoke were visible on
the steep hillside. Ground crews used bulldozers to work on
controlling the fire as darkness fell.
Fire departments from as far away
as The Dalles responded to the fire. At the same time crews were
battling the blaze, a house caught fire in White Salmon. Back-up
Hood River fire fighters responded to put out that fire, which was
confined to a crawl space.
No one has been reported injured.
The below photos were taken
shortly after noon from a construction site just off Westcliff
Drive and from Ruthton Park in Oregon. See the Sept. 22 Hood River
News for updated story and photos.
Photos by Kirby Neumann-Rea |
