Monroe, WA. – Wildfires in Western Washington continue to produce a ton of smoke filling the air, taking a toll on everyone.
According the current incident commander Leonard Johnson, the Bolt Creek Fire has burned 14,776 acres and is 43% contained. KIRO 7 asked Johnson if there could have been a strategy that could have helped to contain the smoke. Johnson says there is a simple answer: no. He says the main strategies for them is to make sure the public is safe and no homes and cities are in harm’s way.
“Our strategies are always to protect the public first. You know, to take care of the fire as best we can and keep people safe,” Johnson said.
Johnson broke down exactly how crews are attacking the Bolt Creek Fire to KIRO 7.
“The lower portion of the fire sits in a full suppression strategy. Which means we work to build containment lines. We work directly on the fire or we build indirect fire lines that will carry fire to in order to help the fire move in the direction we need it to,” Johnson said.
“The purpose behind that part of the strategy is to contain fire where it’s moving through fuels and to make sure it is out or it won’t continue to consume acreage,” Johnson said.
Johnson and other crews say when they come up with a game plan, they have to take into account several factors before they begin.
“It’s in steep terrain. So, even if we are getting containment lines around it, there is still interior portions of the fire that are going to continue to burn,” Johnson said.
“You know sometimes the winds are blowing so hard that we can’t even use aircrafts,” Kim Zargaris with the Western Fire Chiefs Association said.
“The strategy really isn’t changing other than I will tell you this: the faster we initially attack a fire and throw resources at it and try to prevent from getting larger, the better off we will be,” Zargaris said.
And Johnson says he understands people’s concerns about the smoke.
“Because when Mother Nature does that, it holds the fire in position, we can’t get to it as easily. Helicopters can’t fly on it. Aircraft can’t fly on it. Personnel on the ground can’t see it as well,” Johnson said.
And he believes the fire season is still in effect.
“But up until that event gets here Friday on the Bolt Fire, no. It’s not over,” Johnson said.
“There’s a lot of tired people out here. There’s a lot of resources that have fought this particular fire for the last 30 days. And we are at the time of the season where we just can’t get any more resources,” Johnson said.
Currently, crews are still along Highway 2 in King/Snohomish County monitoring the situation.