A successful burnout operation over the past few days has allowed firefighters to build a successful containment line along the southwest perimeter of the 416 Fire. Officials say the 53,260-acre fire is now 45 percent contained.
There was minimal fire behavior on Tuesday as the fire grew 482 acres, significantly less growth than what was seen the prior two days. Officials are expecting similar fire behavior Wednesday.
“We were just shy of 500 acres growth yesterday,” said Brandalyn Vonk, a spokeswoman for the National Incident Management Organization team. “In the past, we were seeing 4,000-, 5,000-acre days, and then the past two days we’ve seen just under 2,000. It’s slowly been decreasing.”
July 4 PIO Map
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The decrease in fire activity is because of the moisture that thunderstorms have brought to the area. There is a 10 percent chance of rain Wednesday, and the probability of moisture will increase throughout the weekend. Forecasters predict that a significant wetting rain will begin Friday, with predictions calling between 0.1 and 0.25 inches of rain.
“We are 100 percent expecting rain on Friday,” Vonk said. “We are very confident of moisture moving into the area.”
The increasing chance of thunderstorms Wednesday can cause dry lightning and strong erratic winds that can reach 50 mph. However, these gusts are usually brief and the wind is not expected to radically influence fire behavior as the forest fuels become increasingly wet, Vonk said.
Crews utilized the lack of fire spread to remove water-handling equipment from the south end of the fire, which should be completed today. Crews are also beginning to remove an extensive network of pumps, hoses and portable water tanks from the protection lines on the north end of the fire around Purgatory Ski Resort. Engine crews are also removing structure-protection equipment from the Falls Creek subdivision.
