The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

Green Ridge:

The Green Ridge Fire ignited during a lightning storm on July 7 and is burning roughly 30 miles east of Walla Walla. The fire continues to burn in the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness in steep, remote, rugged terrain, making it difficult for fire personnel to create containment lines. An indirect fire suppression strategy is being implemented, with control lines being established a considerable distance away from the fire's active edge.

Pacific Northwest Team 3 took command of the Green Ridge Fire Tuesday and will build on the progress that has been made toward containing the fire. Firefighters will continue fortifying road systems and hand lines. Contingency lines continue to be constructed to the north and south of the fire. Reconnaissance will be conducted along the east side of the fire in the wilderness area.

As of Tuesday, July 20, the Green Ridge Fire has burned 2,086 acres and remains at 15% contained. Currently, there are 322 personnel on the ground fighting the blaze. At a community meeting on July 14, fire officials emphasized that firefighting resources are already 'stretched very thin' and anticipated that the Green Ridge Fire would continue to burn for quite some time.

On July 17, level one (Be Ready) evacuations were issued by the Columbia County Sheriff's Office for residents on County Roads 9233, 1931, 1424, and Forest Service Road 46. Columbia County Residents can sign up for the Code Red notification at https://tinyurl.com/24rzmpf2, or by visiting the Columbia County webpage, http://www.columbiaco.com.

Updates are provided daily via the Green Ridge Fire Facebook page, and information is readily available at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7628/.

The Lick Creek Fire:

The Lick Creek Fire burning approximately 20 miles southwest of Asotin, WA, also ignited July 7 during a lightning storm. The fire has torched 73,190 acres and was 45% contained as of July 20. There are 444 personnel overseeing the situation.

A red flag warning remained in place on July 20, with the possibility of scattered thunderstorms and dry lightning. Fire activity has been slow, creeping and smoldering with minimal torching of trees inside the established fireline. Mop-up operations, including extinguishing or removing burning material near control lines, felling snags, and trenching logs to prevent rolling after an area has burned, will continue near the fire line.

Crews will work on securing and strengthening containment lines while patrolling the perimeter. Aerial operations will conduct reconnaissance flights looking for spot fires and hotspots. Due to the recent lower fire activity, crews working the night shift will now be utilized as initial attack crews. These initial attack crews will work in strategic locations around the fire perimeter near areas of concern from new starts from lighting. Pre-positioning initial attack crews can reduce response time in the event a lightning strike or other ignition source results in a new fire in the area.

Updates on the Lick Creek Fire are provided daily on Facebook via the Lick Creek Fire page and InciWeb https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7615.

All Forest Service lands, roads, and trails within the Umatilla National Forest are closed. For more information, visit the Umatilla National Forest website at http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd931174.pdf.

Smoke information is available at the Washington Smoke Blog, https://wasmoke.blogspot.com/. Temperatures will continue to warm, with persisting dry conditions.