VIDEO/PHOTOS: The Bear Gulch Fire, burning on the north end of Lake Cushman, has grown to nearly 9,388 acres, with containment efforts holding steady at 10%, according to fire officials.
Despite a warming and drying trend in the forecast, fire crews have maintained control over the blaze and anticipate operations will gradually wind down in the coming weeks.
Two hundred forty-six fire personnel are assigned to help knock down the blaze. As of Sept. 2, fire officials said two helicopters were navigating the steep terrain of the Olympic National Forest, dropping water on hotspots. Ben Hale, the Bear Gulch Fire public information officer, said, “It has been slowly creeping along several drainages,” with flames consuming a few dozen acres each day.
“We have not lost any containment lines whatsoever,” Hale said, explaining that containment lines could be roads or fire lines that have been dug. “We’re not expecting huge fire growth over the next several days, but our meteorologist does predict that we’ll have a season-ending event in the next month or so.”
