CUSICK, Wash. — As of 9 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 9, the acreage of the Boulder Mountain Fire has been upped to 2,305.
According to the Northeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team, firefighters continue to make good progress and its containment is up to 59% as of Monday.
Extensive mop up of the fire’s edge, coupled with patrolling will continue to take place over the next several days. The interior of the fire still has several areas of heat as large fuels continue to burn. Fallers are working to remove hazards trees allowing hand crews to move closer to the hot edge and continue suppression efforts. Additional resources are beginning to implement suppression repair in areas where the fire is contained
Boulder Mountain Fire
There are currently no updates regarding evacuation levels. Current boundaries can be found on the map provided by the agency below:
The fire is located in the Tacoma Creek and Boulder Mountain area northwest of Cusick, Wash., in the Colville National Forest.
The place of the fire is difficult to access and 521 fire crews are working on the scene. The fire is burning in heavy timber, slash, and beetle infested trees.
Monday, Sept. 5 Updates:
The fire started around 8:30 p.m. Thursday night. Firefighters don't expect the fire to die down anytime soon. A red flag warning was issued for Friday and Saturday due to increased heat and wind.
"Typically during a red flag warning agencies will staff up or get additional personnel to come in," On-site PIO Don Malone said.
With Labor Day Weekend approaching, firefighters want people to know that it's not safe to get close.
"Our message to them is please try and stay out of the area," Malone said. "With this fire, there's several spot fires, which means there's a main fire. And due to any winds and upslope winds that are up there, we'll spot the fires to different locations so we try to get on those as quickly as possible."
Malone says that the Boulder Mountain Fire was likely started by a lightning strike. He says there are no structures threatened, but Level 3 evacuations are in place for the surrounding campgrounds.
"If you come to the area, a lot of people seem to flock to those areas to get pictures," Malone said. "We just advise that you stay out of the area. There's lots of other pictures posted on social media because we have a lot of firefighters working."
Since the fire is so remote, there is only one way in and out. Firefighters are doing their best to find the easiest access points to fight the fire.
There are about 80 people fighting the fire and additional resources are expected to combat the blaze. Fire officials want to remind people that it is not safe to come camping here, even though the fire seems far away.
This is a developing news story and we will provide more updates as we receive them.
DOWNLOAD THE KREM SMARTPHONE APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE KREM+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KREM in the Channel Store.
Fire TV: search for "KREM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email webspokane@krem.com.