By Pepper Fisher
OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK – A couple of small fires burning in Olympic National Park have closed Hurricane Ridge Road until further notice. We spoke with Ranger Jared Low Tuesday to get an update.
“Sure. Yeah, yesterday around 4:30 p.m. Park staff received reports of a wildfire burning in the Hurricane Ridge area as a result of those recent lightning strikes. And so, park personnel confirmed that there’s about a half-acre fire burning in a tree stand up in the Hurricane Ridge area. And the tree stand was about two thousand feet down slope from the intersection of the Hurricane Ridge parking lot and Obstruction Point Road.”
Low said about 15 firefighters were working to suppress that fire in steep, rocky terrain. He described the fire as more of a smolder at this point than a blaze. He said they have requested a helicopter to get a closer look, but crews were optimistic that their suppression efforts were going well.
A second, smaller fire was also burning nearby.
“You know, there is one other small fire confirmed, also in the Hurricane Ridge area, at the end of Obstruction Point Road. There’s a little parking lot down there, and it’s being called The Eagle Point Fire. It’s really small. It’s about .8 of an acre. We have staff monitoring that right now and don’t expect any fire growth on that.”
Low made a point to remind us all that there is a stage 2 fire ban in the park at this time, meaning no campfires or charcoal cooking are permitted.