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 Forest land in the Kettle River Range, east of Republic, Washington, the conflagration was contained by mid September, but only 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 | |
|---|---|
 Fire damage in the Sherman Creek watershed | |
| 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 or cigarette |
| 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
The fire started sometime on August 4th in the Barnaby Creek drainage,[3] 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,[4] possibly smokers, or a blackberry pickers fire.[5] Due to the hot dry conditions, the fire behavior was unpredictable, with the forest Service noting that single day "runs" of 5–6 mi (8.0–9.7 km) were not uncommon in areas and reignition of already burned areas happening frequently.[2] As many as 300 Canadian Doukhobor firefighters flowed into the area to assist the official recruits and volunteers.[6] On August 8, one such crew of approximately 65 men was surrounded and trapped by flames in the Barnaby Creek area. The group sought shelter under a rocky ledge outcrop with a creek nearby.[7] The next morning the flames had moved far enough away for the Crew to walk back out of the burn zone over several miles. The full crew had been presumed lost when they hadn't returned the evening prior. To commemorate the event the stream near where they sheltered, which flows into Barnaby Creek from the north was named Doukhobor Creek.[7][6] A near miss again occurred on August 12 when strong winds drove the fireline rapidly towards two camps with 300 total firefighters. The flames engulfed both camps destroying equipment and belongings, but the men were evacuated only minutes before the firewall arrived. One know fatality has been linked to the Dollar Mountain fire, Vasiliy P. Makeiff, reported on occasion as William Mikaryoff in error. The Doukhobor firefighter was hit by a falling tree on August 15, 1929, causing fracturing of his skull. He was transported to Mount Carmel Hospital in Colville, but succumbed to his injury.[6] His body was returned to Ootischenia, British Columbia and was buried in the cemetery[8]
As of August 27th, 450 men had been garrisoned in the Barnaby Creek area, with additional crews out of the ranger stations at Bangs Mountain, Growden, Sherman Creek, and Trout Lake. The ranger station crews 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.[9] The fire was reported to be under control as of September 14th,[10] though the outlook was cautious as heavy winds were still possible and could whip it up again.[11] At the time of containment, the fire was estimated 98,000 acres (400 km2)in size.[6] The fire was fully out by October 13 when an estimate of 100,000 acres (400 km2) burned was given.[5]
https://access-newspaperarchive-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/us/montana/billings/billings-gazette/1929/09-01/page-16 Billings Gazette Newspaper Archives September 1, 1929 Page 16
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.
- ^ United States Forest Service (2001). "3.7.3 Historic Influences on Hydrology". Colville National Forest (N.F.), Deadman Creek Ecosystem Management Projects, Ferry County: Environmental Impact Statement. Northwestern University. p. 3.38.
- ^ "Flames are ravaging many timber districts". Athena Press Newspaper. Vol. 50, no. 33. Athena, Oregon. August 16, 1929. pp. A1.
- ^ a b "Fires strip vast region". Salt Lake Tribune. Vol. 199, no. 182. October 13, 1929. p. 12.
- ^ a b c d "Dollar Mountain Fire Multiple Incidents 1929". p. Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
- ^ a b "The Doukhobor Gazetter Doukhobor Creek". p. Doukhobor.org. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
- ^ Mariposa9. "Vasiliy P. Makeiff (Unknown-1929)". p. Findagrave. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "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.
- ^ United Press (September 14, 1929). "Ukiah escapes menace of 5 forest blazes". Berkeley Daily Gazette. p. 13.
Category:1929 in Washington (state) Category:Wildfires in Washington (state) Category:Ferry County, Washington Category:Okanagan Category:August 1928 events in the United States