Nakia Creek Fire: conditions improve, evacuation notices lifted

Editor’s note: This article was updated on Friday, Oct. 21, to reflect the fact that all evacuation notices have been lifted and the fire is currently at 30% containment. 

On Wednesday, Oct. 19, three days after easterly winds and dry conditions caused the Nakia Creek wildfire burning north of Camas-Washougal to leap from 156 acres to more than 1,500 acres and forced “go now” evacuations for more than 2,000 households, fire officials said weather conditions were again working in firefighters’ favor. 

“Weather conditions overnight aided firefighters on the Nakia Creek Fire, once again decreasing natural fire behavior,” the Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency (CRESA) reported Wednesday morning. “Between co0ler temperatures, higher relative humidity and minimal wind, flare-ups on the line were minimal and crews were able to steadily continue creating containment lines and mopping up hot spots that have the potential to spread.” 

As of Friday, Oct. 21, the fire was burning on an estimated 1,918 acres in the Larch Mountain area, located about 10 miles north of Camas-Washougal and was 30% contained. Fire officials lifted all evacuation warnings on Thursday, Oct. 20. 

Smoke from the fire contributed to unhealthy air quality this week. On Wednesday, AirNow reported air quality conditions in Camas and Washougal were at “unhealthy” levels and recommended that people with heart or lung disease, as well as older adults, children and teens “avoid strenuous outdoor activities, keep outdoor activities short and consider moving physical outdoor activities indoors or rescheduling.” Other people were advised that they should also consider limiting the amount of time they spend outdoors while air quality is in the “unhealthy” range. To find the latest air quality conditions, visit airnow.gov. 

Fire officials said they hoped weather conditions on Wednesday would allow aircraft to fly over the fire and drop water on the fire’s hard-to-reach areas. 

Officials have seven helicopters and two water-scooper planes assigned to the fire, with additional aircraft available if needed, CRESA reported Wednesday. 

“Firefighters working on the ground today are continuing to complete fire line(s) and bolster existing containment lines to keep the fire in check,” CRESA reported Wednesday morning. “This is extremely hard work that often involves hiking on steep terrain with a 45-pound backpack, hand tools, chainsaws and water throughout a 12-hour shift. Firefighters use these tools to break up vegetation so spreading fire hits the bare dirt and can’t grow beyond that point.”
Fire officials say this work is “the most important at this stage in the fire in order to keep its size as small as possible.” 

On Tuesday, fire officials said firefighters this week will “continue to chip away” at goals set by the Oregon Department of Forestry’s incident management team and continue to create fire lines “to contain the fire to the smallest size possible and preserve the area’s natural resources while keeping firefighters and residents safe.” 

Firefighters also are stationed in residential areas to help monitor homes within the evacuation zones, fire officials said. 

East County Fire and Rescue is hosting Nakia Creek firefighters at ECFR’s Station 91 near the Port of Camas-Washougal’s Grove Field airport off Northeast 267th Avenue, north of Camas. 

CRESA said the Clark County Sheriff’s Office is evaluating evacuation levels daily, but that evacuation zones have not changed as of 9 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19. The most current evacuation map, with the ability to check specific addresses, can be found online at tinyurl.com/NakiaCreekEvacs. As of Wednesday morning, there were 553 homes in the Level 3 “go now” zone, 823 homes in the Level 2 “be set” zone and 1,111 homes in the Level 1 “be ready” zone. 

For the latest updates from CRESA, visit the agency’s main website at cresa911.org/2022/10/11/nakia-creek-fire-updates, or go to CRESA’s social media channels at facebook.com/CRESA.911 and https://twitter.com/Cresatalk. 

The American Red Cross Cascade Region has opened a shelter in Camas at the Camas Church of the Nazarene, 2204 N.E. Birch St., for evacuees and their pets (dogs and cats) in need, and there is temporary overnight parking available at the Port of Camas-Washougal’s overflow lot at 24 S. “A” St., Washougal. There are private facilities available to house evacuated livestock and evacuees are being asked to not go directly to the Clark County Fairgrounds. For more information about livestock shelter locations, call 360-607-2535 or 360-702-1064. 

For community members wishing to assist evacuees, Goodwill Industries is helping to coordinate donations and urges people who wish to donate money to help evacuees donate to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation at wffoundation.org or donate non-perishable food and beverages to the Clark County Food Bank, 6502 N.E. 47th Ave., Vancouver (clarkcountyfoodbank.org).

City of Camas watershed ‘right in the middle’ of wildfire

Camas Director of Public Works Steve Wall said this week that the Nakia Creek Fire “blew straight through” the city’s Bounder Creek and Jones Creek watershed near Larch Mountain on Sunday, Oct. 16. 

“We left on Friday thinking everything was fine … then, when we looked at the map last night, we were right in the middle of it,” Wall told Camas City Council officials on Monday, Oct. 17. 

The city of Camas uses surface water from Boulder and Jones creeks on the south side of Larch Mountain to provide drinking water to its residents during the winter months. 

Of the roughly 1,700-acre watershed south of Larch Mountain, Wall said Monday that the fire had impacted about 700 acres. 

“This is primarily timberland,” Wall said. “The water treatment facility is still a ways away from (the fire), so the building, right now, is fine but we’ll keep an eye on that.”
Wall said the city strives to help protect the timberland in the watershed to ensure the city has a clean water source during the winter months, but that the impact to the city’s drinking water system — as of Monday, Oct. 17 — is “very, very minimal.” 

One day later, amidst improved fire conditions and shrinking evacuation zones, Washougal and Mount Pleasant school district officials announced classes would resume on Tuesday, Oct. 18. 

“The updated fire evacuation maps no longer have our schools in level 1, 2 or 3, and most of our patrons are now out of the evacuation zones,” Les Brown, the Washougal School District’s director of communications and technology, said Monday. 

The Washougal district opened Gause Elementary School for several hours on Monday, Oct. 17, to provide meals, support and recreational activities to residents who were impacted by the fire. 

“The Washougal community always responds to crises by reaching out and offering support to our friends and neighbors in need,” Washougal School District Superintendent Mary Templeton said. “In their response to the Nakia (Creek) Fire, the community has opened its homes and businesses to allow displaced neighbors to evacuate.”

Skamania County firefighters used water resources on the Cape Horn-Skye Elementary campus as part of their work to contain the fire, according to Brown, who added that the district has “heard from many families and staff members that they were in the Level 3 evacuation area and were displaced by the fire.”