The first big Columbia River Gorge wildfire of 2002 hit the Dog Mountain area over the weekend. The fire was located in Skamania County, about seven miles east of Stevenson.
Before the fire was reported fully contained on Sunday evening, approximately 15 acres had burned.
However, Pete Peterson, fire management officer for the U.S. Forest Service in the Columbia River Gorge, said the possibility of flareups remained.
"We won't call it controlled until we see no smoke for three days," Peterson said on Tuesday.
The fire got started on Friday, at approximately 2 p.m., just west of the Dog Mountain trailhead parking area.
Firefighters from the Skamania County Rural Fire District, Washington Department of Natural Resources, and the U.S. Forest Service responded to fight the blaze.
According to Peterson, as many as 55 firefighters battled the fire, with support from two helicopters equipped with water buckets.
As the fire spread uphill into stands of oak and mixed conifers, the two helicopters began to drop water on the fire. An air tanker carrying fire retardant also helped knock down the fire on Friday.
Because the flames were racing up the steep terrain, authorities quickly organized an evacuation for approximately 20 hikers who were on the Dog Mountain trail when the fire started. Members of the Skamania County Search & Rescue team and a Coast Guard helicopter assisted in locating and evacuating the hikers.
Skamania County Sheriff Chuck Bryan said that operation was designed to reduce the potential for a tragedy.
"I don't think they were in imminent danger, it was more of a precaution," Bryan said. "They were all lifted off by the Coast Guard helicopter."
Trails on Dog Mountain and Augspurger Mountain were closed through Sunday.
Because of the fire, State Route 14 was temporarily shut down between Underwood and Home Valley. The closure lasted about five hours. When the highway was reopened, pilot cars guided traffic -- in one lane -- through the worst of the fire zone.
During the SR 14 closure, traffic was detoured over the Hood River Toll Bridge, resulting in long lines and delays there.
Peterson defended the closure of SR 14, despite the complaints of some motorists.
"We had helicopters working, rocks and burning logs coming off the hills, and firefighters working in that area," he said. "The bottom line is public safety and the safety of our firefighters."
Sheriff Bryan said there were no injuries as a result of the blaze. One firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion, however.
Peterson said the fire was "human-caused," but declined to release details pending further investigation.
Peterson also pointed out that with the recent serious fires in the Southwest, significant firefighting resources have been relocated to that part of the United States. That has left the Columbia River Gorge area a bit more vulnerable.
"It definitely drains our resources," Peterson said. "We keep a minimum staffing level here. That's why it's so important to get strong support early from the local fire departments. We can never say `thank you' enough to them."
Peterson noted that the firefighting aircraft that assisted on the Dog Mountain fire were all based outside the Gorge area. The air tanker came up from Klamath Falls, Ore., and the helicopters came from Wenatchee and Ellensburg.
"We would love to have a helicopter stationed in the area," Peterson said. "But basically there is a lack of funding to cover that expense."
Peterson said the ideal situation would be to have one helicopter based in The Dalles, and another in Goldendale to handle fire emergencies.
Barring that, however, a rapid response to fires will continue to be the primary strategy.
"We've been successful in the initial attack -- not that many fires get away from us," he explained. "We want to catch them when they're small to keep them small."
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