Forum Index > Trail Talk > Hannegan Pass TH Closure due to fire
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rbuzby
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PostMon Aug 29, 2022 1:13 pm 
Trail Closure Update: All trails beyond Hannegan Trailhead, including Hannegan Trailhead, Hannegan Pass, Hannegan Peak, and Ruth Arm trails are closed due to fire activity. All park trail and camp closures remain in effect.

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gb
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PostMon Aug 29, 2022 6:13 pm 
Viewed from Baker yesterday and today, everything east of Ruth Mountain shows an exceptionally thick pall of smoke. Some of this smoke (or from another fire) was covering Baker Lake in a variable smoke weft that reached to 5500' in that area as of 10 this morning - 10/29. I had light ash falling in the early part of the night. You would not see it with your eyes but a headlamp shown on the small particles. My lungs felt weird this morning.

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iron
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PostMon Aug 29, 2022 9:57 pm 
dixon's points are all valid. many fires are controlled or extinguished, but this only results in a longer-term issue that will result in more catastrophic fires. fires used to burn through more frequently, but because there was less fuel, they didn't burn as vigorously. additionally, old growth forests had giant trees that were somewhat fire resistant because of thick barks.

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D. Inscho
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PostTue Aug 30, 2022 7:45 am 
Let it burn. It's not ironic that Copper Ridge fire lookout overlooks this area. Decades of fire suppression are consequential. While is is clear from the afternoon pyrocumulous blooms that this fire is incinerating ground-to-crown, some of the burn will remain in the understory.

http://david-inscho.smugmug.com/ The key to a successful trip is to do the planning during work hours. -- John Muir “My most memorable hikes can be classified as 'Shortcuts that Backfired'.” --Ed Abbey
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gb
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PostTue Aug 30, 2022 8:20 am 
Yeah, but that is a different era. Forests in the hot summers we have been having are tinder dry. If a fire erupts in these conditions and it is possible to contain or put it out, the effort should be made. These fires are not the same as those of 30-40-50 years ago when letting it burn meant a fire of 1/2 to 50 acres in most cases or to 5,000-10,000 acres in Eastern Washington. The study referred to was based on different climatic conditions. Letting it burn currently means at peak season fires of 30,000 to 150,00 acres in Washington. In California it means fires of 250,000 to 800,00 acres devastating entire environments. Those fires will come to Washington as well as the climate continues to deteriorate. The health costs alone will be very large over time for people who live in locations where smoke tends to accumulate and last.

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altasnob
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PostTue Aug 30, 2022 8:36 am 
Isn't this fire on the West side of the Cascades (draining down Chilliwack River)? Seems like a perfect candidate to "let it burn." No possibility of affecting any structures. Seems this fire does not meet North Cascades' policy of when to use fire suppression (well, unless you decide the trail there counts as "trail infrastructure" or you need to maintain endangered salmon spawning habitat):
Quote:
Fire suppression may be utilized when there are threats to resources or boundaries. Resources that need protection could include: structures, data collection equipment, campgrounds or trail infrastructure, populated areas, highways, or endangered Species habitat. Suppression could be utilized during wildfires or prescribed fires.

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Cyclopath
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PostTue Aug 30, 2022 9:54 am 
It's amazing we made it until the end of August before fire and smoke became a problem. This has been like a natural summer from 10 or 15 years ago.

Silas, rossb, rbuzby, philfort
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RossB
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PostTue Aug 30, 2022 4:07 pm 
Oddly enough, this fire still isn't on InciWeb. I'm guessing it is still relatively tiny, in a year of tiny fires (in the Washington Cascades and Olympics). This is especially notable given how warm it has been.

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philfort
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PostTue Aug 30, 2022 4:11 pm 
I think that area has been getting a bit of rain (I remember parts of Whatcom county got about an inch in early August), and maybe the late snowpack meant higher elevations aren't quite so dry as they would otherwise be with all the heat?

rossb
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PostTue Aug 30, 2022 5:12 pm 
philfort wrote:
I think that area has been getting a bit of rain (I remember parts of Whatcom county got about an inch in early August), and maybe the late snowpack meant higher elevations aren't quite so dry as they would otherwise be with all the heat?
Good point. The other day I went backpacking up to Big Heart Lake. Passing by Little Heart, we were told of a fire, caused by a sloppy campfire rant.gif. The guy said he tried to put it out, but it was too big. My friend and I attacked it, but it was pretty big, and putting water on it was awkward. All we did was slow it down. Two days later, coming out, a couple firefighters were about to attack it (with big buckets , shovels and axes). My point is, it didn't "explode", and become huge. It had grown, but not so much that a couple of well trained, strong people with the right tools couldn't put it out. Some years -- and some places -- that wouldn't be the case.

Cyclopath
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D. Inscho
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PostWed Aug 31, 2022 6:51 am 
Quote:
"Oddly enough, this fire still isn't on InciWeb. I'm guessing it is still relatively tiny, in a year of tiny fires (in the Washington Cascades and Olympics). This is especially notable given how warm it has been."
I've been seeing it there this week. It doesn't have a name and shows as just red perimeters on the Chilliwack River drainage. It recently has been spotting northward down the Chilli. NWS satellite has also been showing substantial pyrocumulous blow-ups each afternoon.

http://david-inscho.smugmug.com/ The key to a successful trip is to do the planning during work hours. -- John Muir “My most memorable hikes can be classified as 'Shortcuts that Backfired'.” --Ed Abbey
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slabbyd
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PostWed Aug 31, 2022 7:36 am 
Heavy smoke yesterday afternoon in the HWY20 corridor between about Crater Mtn and Rainy Pass. Cleared out by the time we reached Ross Lake. Saw a double rotor helicopter slinging what we asssumed was water heading south over Cutthroat Pass. Is there another fire somewhere east of Ross Lake?

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D. Inscho
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PostWed Aug 31, 2022 7:48 am 
slabbyd wrote:
Saw a double rotor helicopter slinging what we asssumed was water heading south over Cutthroat Pass. Is there another fire somewhere east of Ross Lake?
There is another un-named fire near the border just east of the PCT and Mt. Winthrop. The area is a high meadow called The Parks, historically used for grazing sheep.

http://david-inscho.smugmug.com/ The key to a successful trip is to do the planning during work hours. -- John Muir “My most memorable hikes can be classified as 'Shortcuts that Backfired'.” --Ed Abbey
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Joey
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PostWed Aug 31, 2022 7:59 am 
Here are the latest MODIS/VIIRS heat detections. Dark red is a detection within the prior 6 hours. When the map opens the clickable layer 'on top' shows the latest perimeter (pink area) hosted on the NIFC server. Click inside the perimeter and the data that is displayed includes fire name.
View larger size in new window

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philfort
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PostWed Aug 31, 2022 8:42 am 
Interesting that the Brush Creek one is burning right where there is another recent burn scar.

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