Officers from the Clark County Sheriff's Office assist Skamania County crews at the Archer Mountain Fire earlier in this week. (Contributed photo courtesy of Clark County Sheriff's Office)
After embers from a wildfire consuming 35,000 acres on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge jumped the Columbia River early last week, sparking a spot fire in nearby Skamania County — the Archer Mountain Fire, located roughly 15 miles northeast of downtown Washougal — the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office found its resources and personnel stretched to the limit.
That’s when the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency (CRESA) jumped in to provide support and help battle the Archer Mountain fire, which is now fully contained.
The Washington-side blaze, which was, as of Wednesday, burning on more than 200 acres and about 40 percent contained, threatened homes, property and wildlife. On Tuesday, Sept. 5, just a few hours after the fire started, emergency workers were evacuating residents in the immediate Archer Mountain area and telling folks as far west as portions of Washougal to be alert for possible “go now” evacuation alerts.
In response to the fire and to Skamania County’s stretched-thin resources, CRESA’s Emergency Response Center activated to provide support during the emergency.
By Wednesday, those operations were over, but CRESA stated on its website that emergency management staff would “continue to monitor and provide updates for the Archer Mountain and Eagle Creek fires” as firefighters on both sides of the Gorge continued to battle the wildfires. In Oregon, crews are still working to control the massive Eagle Creek Fire, which has burned four homes and threatened properties, wildlife and forest areas on 33,000 acres from Cascade Locks to Corbett. As of Wednesday, that fire was about 7 percent contained.
For more information regarding the Archer Mountain Fire, visit the Skamania County Sheriff’s website at Skamaniasheriff.com. Information regarding the Eagle Creek Fire can be found at multco.us. Agencies have been providing continuous updates on social media, as well, particularly on Twitter, where both the Eagle Creek Fire and the Archer Mountain Fire have active accounts tweeting updates as new information emerges.
