Boulder Fire in Mount Hood National Forest grows to 160 acres
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The Boulder Fire, a wildfire burning in a steep, densely forested area of the Mount Hood National Forest, has grown to approximately 160 acres since it ignited on July 8 near the Boulder Lake trailhead, a team of firefighters managing the blaze told KOIN 6 News Monday.
Although the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center stated that the fire had exploded from 60 to 500 acres between Sunday and Monday, Northwest Incident Management Team 10 spokesperson Mark Enty confirmed that the latest survey of the fire actually placed the acreage closer to 160.
“The 500 acres was an estimate used to decide how many resources we needed to manage that response,” Enty said. “[The 500-acre estimate] is higher than the total acreage we are reporting now.”
Enty told KOIN 6 that firefighters ordered a plane with infrared technology to map out the Boulder Fire’s hotspots. However, firefighters will continue to document the fire’s growth using GPS and visual estimates until the plane arrives.
“Once we get an infrared flight, then we'll be able to get a real estimation of the ground average,” Enty said.
Level 3 “Go Now” evacuations remain in place for campgrounds at Boulder Lake, Little Boulder Lake, Bonney Meadow, Badger Lake, Camp Windy and Post Camp, the Wasco County Sheriff's Office states. Forest Roads 4480, 4481 and 4890 also remain closed in the area.
Heavy plumes of smoke could be seen rising from the fire on Sunday. However, visuals of the fire on Monday afternoon show less smoke in the area.
Enty said that firefighters may be making progress on the fire. However, an accurate report of the fire’s growth or containment isn’t expected to be released until Tuesday morning.
Two scooper planes and four helicopters have been requested to help extinguish the remote timber fire, although the exact number of crews currently working the Boulder Fire is unclear at this time. The cause of the fire is also unknown and remains under investigation.