VIDEO: Officials say the Bear Gulch Fire will keep burning until winter, and itโs still growing. The priority now is keeping flames away from homes. Overnight, the fire grew by about 1,200 acres, mostly in remote terrain, and fire crews say theyโll need help from Mother Nature to put it out.
โThe weather is going to put this fire out, the firefighters are not going to be successful in putting this fire all the way out,โ said Incident Commander Sonny Caldwell with Northwest Team 7. He says the Bear Gulch Fire will keep burning terrain until winter and is expected to grow even larger. โWe will see more growth, weโll see more growth today and then more growth in the next warming trend up into the north and west and even to the west this direction,โ said Caldwell.
Even with 700 people working the fire, containment is at just three percent. The fight isnโt just on the fire line, itโs also hitting local businesses. “Iโve had one customer so far today,โ said Becky Lougheed, one owner of Hoodsport Winery. โItโs just kind of a nail on the coffin,โ said Peggy Patterson, Hoodsport Winery’s other owner. The winery typically sees about 100 customers a day, but smoke and road closures have slowed summer tourism significantly.
