Single Publication

Estimated size:                       500 acres

Start Date/Time:                     July 17, 2024

Area of Origin:                        21 air miles east of Darrington WA

Cause:                                      Lightning

Fuels/Topography:                  timber, rugged terrain

Structures Damaged:              None, there are no homes threatened at this time.

Evacuations:                            None

The Miners Complex consists of ten wildfires caused by lightning strikes in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. The fires included in the complex are: Miners Fire, Vista Ridge Fire, Dolly Creek Fire, Sulphur Three Fire, Sulphur Four Fire, Sulphur Thirty-Four Fire, Upper Sulphur Thirty-Two Fire, Lower Sulphur Thirty-Two Fire, Plummer, and Middle Ridge Fire.

Update: Fire Activity picked up for the Vista Ridge, and Miners fires yesterday. Fire on Sulphur Mountain remain but fire and smoke activity has been minimal since the weather event of last week. The observation flight scheduled today will give a better perspective of the fire growth and perimeters. Operations staff have identified long term containment lines and are working to get fire crews to start their implementation when they become available and assigned to the fire. However right now, competition for resources is high and available resources are being utilized on higher priority fires. 

Weather: A ridge of high pressure over the region will maintain warm and dry conditions into Sunday. At this time, afternoon relative humidities are expected to remain just above critical levels with moderate recoveries at night. Light wind in the early morning hours will become westerly to southwesterly each afternoon and evening. Max temperatures around 81 degrees. Southwest winds 5 to 8 mph.

Smoke: For more information on smoke and air quality please visit: https://wasmoke.blogspot.com/

Closures: The following is a summary of the areas closed due to the fires in the Miners Complex. Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail #2000.2 from Mica Lake to Suiattle Pass, Suiattle River Trail #784, Miners Ridge Trail #785, Buck Creek Pass Trail #789, Miners Cabin Trail #795, Grassy Point Trail #788, Sulphur Mountain Trail #794, Sulphur Creek Trail #793, Sulphur Creek Campground, Sulphur Creek Trailhead, and the Downey Creek trailhead. The full Closure Orders visit: https://www.fs.usda.gov/mbs

Forest Restrictions:The Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie has a full campfire ban and forest-wide shooting restrictions in place to help prevent human-caused starts during this period of unprecedented resource scarcity. Additional details at: www.fs.usda.gov/mbs

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