[gb]

Now that the burning is over (some smoldering), I would like to get information on the Cougar Fire and Crescent Fire regarding the extent and coverage of the burns. Specifically: 1) Did the Cougar Fire extend down into the lower Mad River towards the campground? If so are the first four miles of the Lower Mad River affected? 2) What areas were affected by the Crescent Fire? As I understand it it did not extend to TH's at the end of the Twisp River, is that correct? How badly were War Creek and Eagle Creek and the upper reaches of the basins in those drainages affected? I don't believe the fire reached East Fork Buttermilk? is that true? What was the effect on the Scatter Lake trail? Thanks for any help.

[jinx'sboy]

For Crescent Mtn Fire.....Here’s a map of ‘final’ fire perimeter. https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/map/6093/0/90090 What I have been able to see, so far, is that the Twisp River campgrounds and THs are pretty much OK. Looks like Oval, Eagle, West Buttermilk, Williams, War and South creek trails all had some portions that burned....some intensely. I believe the very bottom of the east fk buttermilk did burn. Here is a link to Baer team. Maybe a burn intensity map is available? http://centralwashingtonfirerecovery.info/wildfire-reports/crescent-mountain-fire/ Here is a SOIL burn intensity map. http://www.centralwashingtonfirerecovery.info/2018/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Crescent_11x17_Treatments_20181001.pdf

[jinx'sboy]

Found this in the Baer report....”The fire spread through a combination of slow creeping and short runs, spotting, and burnout operations resulting in a mosaic of fire severity on USFS land — 2,285 acres of high, 18,454 acres of moderate, 24,073 acres of low, and 7,715 of unburned.” Crescent Baer report: http://www.centralwashingtonfirerecovery.info/2018/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Crescent-Mountain-2500-8-Summary-Briefing.pdf

[gb]

Thanks jinx'sboy. That is a good start. I hadn't thought the fire extended to the road end. It looks like there is damage to the Twisp Pass trail and heavy damage to the first mile and half of the South Pass trail. Also War Creek looks to have burned throughout and Oval Creek looks fairly bad but Eagle Creek is not so badly damaged. I am pleased to note that the fire appears not to have burned the magnificent larches near the Oval Lakes area. Also West Fork Buttermilk saw quite a bit of fire but as you say East Fork Buttermilk escaped damage except very close to the TH. And Scatter Lake looks to have been devastated. These are all areas I've either visited or am likely to visit. I would like to see folks chip in that have actually hiked these areas since the fire.

[gb]

Any chance you can find the map for the Cougar Fire regarding Lower Mad River?

[jinx'sboy]

Link to cougar creek Baer, maps etc http://centralwashingtonfirerecovery.info/wildfire-reports/cougar-creek-fire/

[hbb]

GB, have you seen these: http://methowvalleynews.com/2018/10/03/twisp-river-horse-camp-survives-the-flames/ http://methowvalleynews.com/2018/10/03/forest-service-evaluating-fire-related-road-trail-closures/

[gb]

Thanks for the additional information. This thread should be a sticky and include fire damage from 2015 through 2017.

[treeswarper]

How will you be verifying info sent to you?

[gb]

Eventually, I will be hiking some of these areas. I was and am hoping that others with firsthand information will be providing better insight.

[Joey]

Here is a map that displays the final perimeter for this year's fires. https://mappingsupport.com/p2/gissurfer.php?center=47.842099,-120.308779&zoom=8&basemap=USA_basemap&overlay=GeoMAC_this_year_perimeters&txtfile=https://mappingsupport.com/p2/special_maps/disaster/USA_wildland_fire.txt You can turn on a layer that shows older fires. One of the basemaps is scanned USGS topos. For more info please click "Map tips" in the upper left corner.

[hbb]

Edit: Nevermind, I see jinx'sboy already posted links to the BAER assessments. I overlooked that post earlier, and for some reason thought they just came out. Far fewer recommended trail closures than I would have expected, which is good news.

[gb]

Thanks for all who replied. The Cougar Fire is relevant for me in that I often hike the Lower Mad River. That trail is listed as closed but perhaps that has changed. I found a final burn intensity map on the Inciweb Facebook page (which I saved) that shows the the Lower Mad River was mostly Low intensity with a few pockets of Moderate. Hopefully, that means that the area hasn't changed much.