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Williams Mine Fire Update for Thursday, September 12, 2024

Although the Williams Mine Fire did not get much rain Wednesday, higher humidity and cooler temperatures kept fire activity down. Similar weather is expected for several more days. Fire personnel continue to monitor the fire for hot areas, but are also able to make progress on repair work that needs to be done on roads and dozer lines before the fall rains arrive.

To be effective, control lines need to be cleared of all flammable materials down to mineral soil. This gap in the surface fuels is necessary to stop fire from spreading by creeping and smoldering through the duff layer. Roads are often used as control lines, but lines in other locations need to be dug by hand or using dozers. These dug control lines are often lower than the neighboring ground level due to removal of duff and other materials. 

Rainfall can be trapped in these dips along constructed control lines. Exposed soils can be easily eroded, especially on slopes and on certain soil types. Much of the repair work on control lines is aimed at diverting water off of them to avoid erosion. Work may be done using equipment such as excavators, or it may be done by hand. 

The berm is removed along the edge of a dozer or hand line and the soil is reshaped to match the original profile of the ground. Waterbars or water dips are constructed to catch any water flowing down the line and direct it off of the exposed soils back to the natural forest floor. Slash, straw, or rock is spread on the exposed soils to reduce the erosive impact of rainfall and help seeds stay in place to grow.

To reduce the amounts of flammable materials adjacent to roads prepared for use as control lines, piles of brush and slash need to be hauled away or chipped. Road ditches are cleaned of debris and excess soil, and culverts are cleaned out to allow water to freely flow through them. Some roads need to be graded, others need drivable water dips re-established to divert water off the road surface. The objective is to leave roads in as good of shape as they were in before the fire, or in better shape.

SAFETY AND CLOSURES: 

Watch out for hunters, who may be distracted or driving too fast for road conditions. They may also be illegally entering the Forest closure, including driving on closed roads where fire personnel are working.

The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Tract D Recreation Area is currently closed, please see Yakama Tract D Road Closure for more information. FS Rd 23 south of FS Rd 90 is still CLOSED to the public due to fire suppression activity. Takhlakh Lake is still closed. The revised closure for the Mt. Adams Wilderness and FS Rd 23 closure can be found at Williams Mine Fire: Area and Road Closure. The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is closed from the PCT's intersection with FS Rd 23 to Potato Hill. The current area closure spans the entire Mt. Adams Wilderness.