FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday July 17, 2012
Foster Creek Fire update – 9:00 a.m.
BRIDGEPORT – Operational managers are reporting that good progress was made on the fireline yesterday as crews continued to seek and extinguish hot spots around the outer edges of the fire. “We have moved into the mop-up stage, and we’re hopeful that we can really get this fire contained by the end of shift today,” said Department of Natural Resources Incident Commander (DNR IC) Ron Wonch. GPS technology was used to determine a closer estimate on the acreage of the fire. The new estimate puts the fire at 1,291 acres.
An Infrared camera and operator arrived at the Incident Camp in Bridgeport last night and has been deployed out to the fire this morning to seek out embers and burning debris that may be burning beneath the surface. When found, these areas are then flagged and fire crew’s follow-up by digging and spraying water to fully extinguish these lingering sources of heat. “We want to be as thorough as possible so we leave this fire in a safe manner,” Wonch said.
The fire crews and incident management team has been housed out of the Bridgeport High School, with the command post being located in the school library. “These folks have been very accommodating, and we are very thankful for the use of their school,” said Matt Ugaldea, Logistical Section Chief. Cooperation between multiple agencies is key to maintaining organization and maximizing productivity for fire crews. The school district is one of many agencies and private organizations that have been a part of this effort. The DNR Type 3 Incident Management Team responsible for managing this fire would like to thank everyone who has helped with the effort; it has truly been a ‘multi-organizational’ team effort.
DNR’s wildfire mission
Administered by Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark, DNR is responsible for preventing and fighting wildfires on 12.7 million acres of private, state and tribal-owned forestlands. DNR is the state's largest on-call fire department, with over 1,000 employees trained and available to be dispatched to fires as needed. During fire season, this includes over 700 DNR employees who have other permanent jobs with the agency and about 375 seasonal workers. Additionally, Department of Corrections adult offenders and Department of Social and Health Services-Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration juvenile offenders participate in the DNR correctional camps program. DNR also participates in Washington's coordinated interagency approach to firefighting.
Media Contact: Seth Barnes, Foster Creek Fire PIO, 360-219-6389, seth.barnes@dnr.wa.gov
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