Sunday’s lightning sparked at least 10 small fires in Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest, and more are expected to be discovered.
Five are in the park and five in the forest, according to the joint press release from Penny Wagner, park spokesperson, and Susan Garner, forest spokesperson.
All are in “fairly remote areas,” they said.
They are small, ranging from 0.1 to 2.4 acres in size on Tuesday, Wagner said.
Several blazes are in the interior of the park and the northwest portions of the park and forest. One fire is located in the southeast portion of the national forest on Mount Lena.
The impressive lightning show nevertheless occurred along with minimal precipitation and high fire danger conditions — optimal conditions for starting fires in wilderness areas.
“It is expected that additional fires may be found in the next few days,” said Wagner and Garner in a press release, adding that favorable weather conditions are forecast later this week with cooler, moist weather, which could potentially aid in fire suppression.
On Tuesday, firefighters saw “relatively minimal fire behaviors,” Wagner said.
Currently assigned to the fires are a helicopter rappel crew, type 3 helicopter with a helitack crew, eight personnel fire management module, and three wildland fire engines.
The National Park Service and USDA Forest Service are coordinating efforts with state and local agencies, the spokespeople said.
Firefighters are split up and taking suppression actions on the fires posing the highest threats.
Additional resources, including more crews, engines and overhead, are on order.
No trail closures are currently in place.
East Beach Road continues to be closed, however, because of a blaze that started July 29.
It is thought to have been human-caused.
It has burned 84 acres and is 98 percent contained, Wagner said.
“Public safety remains a concern,” she said.
“Debris continues to come down off the steep slope onto the road.”
East Beach Road is closed to all visitor traffic, including bicycles and pedestrians, at its intersection with U.S. Highway 101.
Log Cabin Resort is still operating and can be accessed via state Highway 112 to Joyce-Piedmont Road.
All day-use recreation sites along East Beach Road in Olympic National Park are closed. Local residents can access property up to 2 miles west of Highway 101 or from Log Cabin Resort up to the hard closure.
