The Dollar Mountain Fire was on of the earliest large scale wildfires in Ferry County, Washington. Starting August 4, 1929 Burning an estimated 98,000–142,000 acres (400–570 km2) of Colville National Forrest land in the Kettle River Range, east of Republic, Washington, the conflagration was finally extinguished due to weather changes in "late fall". Fire crews came from across the region, including Portland, Oregon, Seattle, and Spokane, Washington, and across British Columbia. While news reports of the period occasionally called the blaze the White Mountain Fire, it should not be confused with the White Mountain Fire of 1988 that burned in much of the same area as the Dollar Mountain Fire 59 years earlier.
| Dollar Mountain Fire | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | August 4, 1929 – "Late Fall" |
| Location | Kettle River Range Ferry County, Washington, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 48°36.4′N 118°28.8′W / 48.6067°N 118.4800°W |
| Statistics | |
| Burned area | 98,000–142,000 acres (400–570 km2) |
| Land use | National Forest |
| Ignition | |
| Cause | Careless campers |
| Map | |
  Approximate location of the Dollar Mountain Fire | |
Background
Much of northern Ferry County is dominated by temperate coniferous forests maintained by the Colville National Forest and as private land. The forests at the lower elevation are mixed Douglas fir and ponderosa pine, which intergrade into mixed Douglas fir, lodgepole pine, and western larch at mid-elevation and finally into mixed Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir, and lodgepole pine forests at the highest elevations.[1]
The Kettle River Range had a history of wildfires with fires first reported in the early 1910's. According to Colville National Forest records the turn of the century through 1910 were wet and fires scant or non-existent.[2] This changed with the 1910 fire season were five major fires were seen, including the Lost Creek Fire said to have burned all summer and engulfed more area than the other four fires combined. Fire season wewre smaller for the next few years but flared up in 1914 with five fires, none of which was listed as major. The years between 1915 and 1919 saw one active fire season, 1918, where 50 fires in total were seen, but less than 2,000 acres (810 ha) were burned. The fire season of 1920 saw the largest acreage losses to that point in the Colville National Forest lands, with four large conflagrations, the Coco, Golden Harvest, Indian Creek, and Pierre burniing 3,000 acres (1,200 ha), 5,410 acres (2,190 ha), 7,680 acres (3,110 ha), and 6,465 acres (2,616 ha) respectively.[2] The four in conjunction with 84 other small to medium fires over the season consumed 34,747 acres (14,062 ha). 1921 followed in the footsteps of 1920, with 23,298 acres (9,428 ha) lost to 93 fires, the largest being the Linderman and Flat Creek Fires. The years 1922-1928 were quieter, though consistently more active then the 1900's and 1910's overall. Fire lookouts in this time period were just transitioning from the pre-1921 tents, transient wooden structures, or primitive fire lookouts to first and second generation wooden Fire lookouts.[2] 1929 saw abnormally dry conditions across the region, the daily high winds blowing from the south exacerbating the 6% to 10% ambient humidity. [2]
Fire
Due to the hot dry conditions, the fire behavior was unpredictable, with the forest Service noting that single day "runs" of 5 to 6 mi ([convert: unit mismatch]) were not uncommon areas and reignition of already burned areas happening frequnetly.[2] The fire started sometime on August 4th, and was initially suggested to have been caused by lightning strike. No thunderstorms or lightning had been reported that day in the region and further investigation pinned the start on carless campers who had been in the area at the time.[3] As many as 300 Doukhobor volunteer fire crew flowed into the area to assist the official recruits and volunteers.
As of August 27th, 450 men had been garrisoned in the Barnaby Creek area, with additional crews in the ranger stations at Bangs Mountain, Growden, Sherman Creek, and Trout Lake. The ranger staion crwews were tasked with forming and maintaining fire lines along the southwestern, southeastern, and southern edges of the fire. The northern edge of the fire was unmaintained and being wind-driven in that direction. At the time of reporting the fires extended in a region about 12 mi (19 km) north of the center of the Colville Reservation north to just south of the Canadian Boarder, and was up to 8 mi (13 km) at its widest.[4] 1929 White Mountain/Dollar Mountain Fire
The fire was reported to be under control as of September 14th. [5]
https://www.washingtonruralheritage.org/digital/collection/r6cnf/id/485/ 1940's photo of 1929 White Mountain/Dollar Mountain Fire damage
https://lessons.wildfire.gov/incident/dollar-mountain-fire-multiple-incidents-1929 Dollar Mountain fire
Aftermath
By the time the fire was fully quelled in late fall 1929 the blaze had burned an estimated 98,000–142,000 acres (40,000–57,000 ha) along the eastern slopes of the Kettles over a several month span.[2] Following the 1929 fire season the devastation of the Dollar Mountain Fire along the Kettle Range, efforts were stepped up to access the fire detection system in the Colville National Forest as a whole, with a full survey being performed and funding allocated. A number of additional fire lookouts were approved and built along the backbone of the kettles, were they were seasonally or continuously manned until eventual decommission. Stations where wheeled vehicles could not reach had the lumber and building material packed in by men and tandem-horse teams in custom made harnesses.[2]
References
- ^ "Ferry County, Washington Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP)" (PDF). Washington state Department of Natural Resources. December 8, 2006.
- ^ a b c d e f g Kurtz, M.V. (1941). "History of Colville National Forest History of the Colville National Forest Part II Page II-22 History of Fires on the Colville continued". Colville National Forest. p. Washington Rural Heritage. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
- ^ "Flames are ravaging many timber districts". Athena Press Newspaper. Vol. 50, no. 33. Athena, Oregon. August16, 1929. pp. A1.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Forest blazes slow up some". Spokesman-Review. Vol. 49, no. 95. Spokane, Washington. August 17, 1929. p. 8.
- ^ "Pacific Northwest faced with unprecedented menace of fires". Sheboygan Press. Vol. 22, no. 229. Sheboygan, Wisconsin. September 14, 1929. p. 6.
Category:1928 in Washington (state) Category:Wildfires in Washington (state) Category:Ferry County, Washington Category:Okanagan Category:August 1928 events in the United States