Fire crews today are continuing to battle a 66-acre fire north of Lake Merwin in Cowlitz County.
The fire is expected to be contained Wednesday night and controlled some time Friday.
Steve Hartsell, a spokesman with the state Department of Natural Resources, explained that having the blaze contained constitutes having a fire line drawn around the perimeter of the blaze.
Six hand crews are working on that today, he said. As of late Sunday night, the fire was up to 20 percent contained.
The fire is about three miles north of the intersection where Jack’s Store stood until it burned in 2007, Hartsell said. Explosives will be used to help clear earth as crews construct the two-foot deep line around the burn.
“You may hear an explosion this afternoon around 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.,” he warned area residents.
Five engines, three water tenders and two bulldozers were on-hand today trying to quell the blaze.
“Forest roads 6600 and A1000 are closed to public travel. The public is asked to stay off the road system for their own safety and firefighters’ safety,” Hartsell said.
He said high temperatures, low humidity and gusty northwest winds could whip the fire, which is burning on rugged state trust land and some Longview Timber land.
The fire was reported about 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Fire crews using hand tools are trying to save 20-year-old Douglas fir trees growing on tree plantations, Hartsell said.
He added that no buildings have burned and there have been no reported injuries. The fire will be considered controlled when it’s “dead out,” Hartsell said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
