Western Washington Type 3 Incident Management Team

02/08/2026

SKYO FIRE UPDATE – August 2, 2026

Start Date: July 22, 2026 | Acres: 254 (+1) | Containment: 64% (+17%) | Fire Cause: Lightning | Fire Strategy: Full Suppression | Personnel: 177 (-40)

Initial Attack Fires on the Cowlitz Ranger District (excluding the Skyo Fire): The Coyote Fire in the Goat Rocks area was fully suppressed yesterday afternoon, and the rappeller crew safely hiked out of the area. Today’s initial attack focus continues to be to locate and engage remaining holdover fires from last week’s thunderstorms as needed. Of the previous fire starts, nine of the fourteen have been fully suppressed, with five remaining on the landscape. Of these five, two are contained, two are controlled, and the remaining fire is in patrol status. This will be the last update on Initial attack incidents unless significant fire activity occurs.

Packwood, WA - Skyo Fire: Aided by cooler temperatures and high relative humidity, firefighters made great progress on mopping up the fire yesterday. This work will continue today ahead of a return warming temperatures and drier conditions for the foreseeable future. The intent of mopping up around the fire perimeter is to further secure the containment lines by knocking out hot spots that could threaten the fire lines. Getting ahead of this is key to keeping the fire in place with no further fire spread as weather conditions change. The interior of the fire will still have hot spots that will occasionally, as temperatures rise and relative humidity decreases, burn and produce smoke. Residents should not worry about the presence of smoke coming from the interior of the fire as fuels have been removed around these hot spots and firefighters will still be working on the fire to ensure flames do not escape the containment lines. Aviation resources continue to assist ground-based firefighters in cooling hot spots

While the number of firefighters assigned to the Skyo Fire will decrease as containment increases, the Incident Management Team and necessary resources will remain in place and focus on securing containment lines. As August is historically the busiest month for active fire behavior for much of the Pacific Northwest, ensuring the Skyo Fire remains within containment lines is the top priority of fire managers.

Evacuations and Closures: The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office has issued a Level 1 “Be Ready” notice for the area adjacent to the fire on the north side of the Cowlitz River out of an abundance of caution. Gifford Pinchot National Forest Stage 2 Fire Restrictions are in effect under Forest Order #06-03-00-26-02, which includes a Forest-wide campfire ban. A Gifford Pinchot National Forest Closure Order #06-03-05-26-03 for Forest Service Road 4710 and all associated spur roads is in effect. The closure is in place to protect public and firefighters’ safety.

24-Hour Weather: Today: High: 68, mostly sunny. Light winds 6 to 8 mph. Low: 46. Humidity: 52%.
Monday: High: 81, sunny. Light winds. Humidity: 30%.

Additional Information:
InciWeb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/wagpf-skyo-fire
Facebook: USFS – Gifford Pinchot National Forest: https://www.facebook.com/GiffordPinchot
Smoke Information: https://fire.airnow.gov Fire Information Line: (360) 370-3882 Email: [email protected]

01/08/2026

SKYO FIRE UPDATE – August 1, 2026
Start Date: July 22, 2026 | Acres: 253 (+0) | Containment: 47% (+9%) |
Fire Cause: Lightning | Fire Strategy: Full Suppression | Personnel: 217

Initial Attack Fires on the Cowlitz Ranger District (excluding the Skyo Fire): The Coyote Fire which was discovered on Thursday in the Goat Rocks area is currently staffed as heli-rappellers continue to secure and reinforce containment and control lines. The crew will begin hiking out of the area this afternoon. Today’s initial attack focus is to locate and engage remaining holdover fires from last week’s thunderstorms as needed. Of the previous fire starts, seven of the thirteen have been fully suppressed, with six remaining on the landscape. Of these six, two are contained, two are controlled, and the remaining two are being patrolled.

Packwood, WA - Skyo Fire: The burnout operations that began two days ago have been very successful in securing the containment lines on the north flank of the fire. The intent of the burnout operation was to remove fuels between the head of the fire and the containment lines, thereby securing the north flank and preventing further fire spread. Some small pockets of unburned fuels on the interior of the fire will be burned out today, as needed. The cold front over the fire area for the next few days is conducive to further securing firelines through mopping up hot spots around the entire perimeter of the fire. Aviation resources continue to be available to ground-based firefighters in cooling hot spots.

As containment of the Skyo Fire continues to increase, some firefighter resources will be released and reassigned to other fires throughout the west. While the number of firefighters assigned to the Skyo Fire will decrease as containment increases, the Incident Management Team and needed firefighters will remain in place and focus on ensuring containment lines are further secured ahead of the forecasted warming and drying trend that will be over the Pacific Northwest beginning early next week. As August is historically the busiest month for active fire behavior for much of the Pacific Northwest, ensuring the Skyo fire remains within containment lines is the top priority of fire managers.

Evacuations and Closures: The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office has issued a Level 1 “Be Ready” notice for the area adjacent to the fire on the north side of the Cowlitz River out of an abundance of caution. Gifford Pinchot National Forest Stage 2 Fire Restrictions are in effect under Forest Order #06-03-00-26-02, which includes a Forest-wide campfire ban. A Gifford Pinchot National Forest Closure Order #06-03-05-26-03 for Forest Service Road 4790 and all associated spur roads is in effect. The closure is in place to protect public and firefighters’ safety.

24-Hour Weather: Today: High: 68, mostly cloudy. Southwest winds 5 to 15 mph. Low: 48. Humidity: 69%. Sunday: High: 69, mostly sunny. Light winds becoming west at 5 to 8 mph. Humidity: 50%.

Additional Information:
InciWeb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/wagpf-skyo-fire
Facebook: USFS – Gifford Pinchot National Forest: https://www.facebook.com/GiffordPinchot
Smoke Information: https://fire.airnow.gov
Fire Information Line: (360) 370-3882
Email: [email protected]

31/07/2026

Skyo Fire Daily Update for July 31st, 2026

Community Meeting: Today, July 31 at 5:00 p.m., at the Packwood Community Center. For those unable to attend in person, you can join us via Zoom at: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88268913050

Start Date: July 22, 2026 | Acres: 253 (+51) | Containment: 38% (+20%) | Fire Cause: Lightning | Fire Strategy: Full Suppression | Personnel: 217

Initial Attack Fires on the Cowlitz Ranger District (excluding the Skyo Fire): One new fire was found yesterday and staffed with heli-rappelers who are engaged in fire suppression activities. Today’s focus is to locate and engage any holdover fires from last week’s thunderstorms as needed. Of the previous fire starts, seven of the thirteen have been fully suppressed, with six remaining on the landscape. Of these six, two are contained, two are controlled, and the remaining two are being patrolled.

Packwood, WA - Skyo Fire: Burnout operations that began yesterday on the north flank of the fire were very successful in meeting objectives of removing fuels between the head of the fire and indirect containment lines. These operations will continue today with a focus on securing and holding the firelines by moving fire through the area to eliminate additional fuels ahead of this weekend’s cold front which may bring windy conditions. The intent is to secure this fire in place in anticipation of next week's prolonged warming and drying trend. The goal of conducting burnout operations is to prevent fire from escaping existing firelines. Burnout operations can result in increased smoke over and near the fire area. Persons affected by smoke might consider alternatives to being near the fire area. Smoke will continue to disperse to the east during the afternoon hours but may settle into the valley through the evening and overnight.

On the south and west flanks of the fire, containment lines were further improved, and a small burnout was completed on the west side to reinforce containment lines. Mop-up of the south and west flanks is fully underway and will continue over the next several days.

Aviation support has been actively engaged in assisting ground-based firefighters in cooling hot spots. As improvements to firelines continue, the containment percentage of the fire will continue to increase.

Evacuations and Closures: The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office has issued a Level 1 “Be Ready” notice for the area adjacent to the fire on the north side of the Cowlitz River out of an abundance of caution. Gifford Pinchot National Forest Stage 2 Fire Restrictions are in effect under Forest Order #06-03-00-26-02, which includes a Forest-wide campfire ban. A Forest Closure for the northern part of the fire is expected to be implemented soon.

24-Hour Weather: Today: High: 88, sunny. Light winds becoming southwest at 5 mph in the afternoon Low: 54. Humidity: 30%. Saturday: High: 71, partly cloudy with a chance of rain in the afternoon. Light winds becoming west at 7-12 mph in the afternoon. Humidity: 60%.

Additional Information:
InciWeb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/wagpf-skyo-fire
Facebook: USFS – Gifford Pinchot National Forest: https://www.facebook.com/GiffordPinchot
Smoke Information: https://fire.airnow.gov
Fire Information Line: (360) 370-3882
Email: [email protected]

26/07/2026

The team is hard at work on the Skyo Fire. Here is today's update. You can follow along on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest- U.S. Forest Service page for updates and onging information.

SKYO FIRE

Daily Update - July 25, 2026 – 6:00 pm
Acres: 44 Containment: 0% Fire Strategy: Full Suppression
Location: 3 miles west of Packwood, WA; North of Hwy 12 and the Cowlitz River

Packwood, WA. - On July 22 and 23, an electrical storm passed over the Cowlitz Valley producing a significant number of lightning strikes. Local responders and the U.S. Forest Service mobilized quickly with full suppression objectives. Over the last several days, crews identified 11 lightning-caused ignitions, the largest located on Skyo Mountain. Upon further assessment of the situation and difficult terrain, fire officials ordered a Type 3 Incident Management Team.

At 6:00am on July 25th 2026, Western Washington Incident Management Team 3 assumed command of the Skyo Fire, and all Initial Attack responses across the Cowlitz Valley Ranger District of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Crews are working to confirm and locate lightning-caused ignitions and identify any threats to safety and natural resources. Hand crews, in tandem with aviation resources, are focused on limiting fire spread and keeping the footprint as small as possible.

The public is asked to avoid venturing in or around the fire areas.

Please do not use drones; if you fly, we cannot. Drone use creates significant safety issues and will ground aircraft engaged in firefighting activity.

Additional fires in the area managed by the WWIMT include:

- Clear Fork Fire: Located in the Goat Rocks Wilderness Area, 4 miles east of Packwood Lake and south of Hwy 12. Fire controlled at .5 acre.
- Johnson Creek Fire: Located 4.6 miles southeast of Packwood, about 1 mile west of Glacier Lake Trailhead #89 and Forest Service Road (FSR) 21. Size .6 acre.
- Cortright Fire: Located 1.4 miles north of Hwy 12 near Palisades Viewpoint, about 0.35 miles northwest from the end of FSR-45. West of the William O. Douglas Wilderness Area. Fire contained at .1 acre.
- Curly Creek Fire: Located east of Swift Reservoir, northeast from the intersection of FSR-90 and Curly Creek Road. Fire is out at .1 acre.
- Miller Fire: Located southwest of the McClellan Observation Site off Curly Creek Road. Fire is contained at .1 acre.
- Mosquito Fire: Located south of Wakepish SnoPark and south of FSR-28. Size: .1 acre.
- High Lava Fire: Located south of FSR 54 and about 8 miles from the intersection of FSR301/FSR-34. Size: 8 acres.
- Green Mountain Fire: Located about 0.84 miles southeast of Orr Creek Sno-Park. Just west of the end of FSR 5603-039. Fire is out at .12 acre.
- Frying Pan Fire: Located about .5 miles northwest of Frying Pan Mountain, west of the William O. Douglas Wilderness area. Size: 1 acre.
- Yellow Jacket Fire: Located about 1.5 miles south for the Old’ Slide Hiking Area, west of forest road 051. Size 0.5 acres.

Please help crews stay focused on suppression efforts by preventing any human caused fires. All campfires are prohibited across the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Portable cooking stoves, portable gas campfires, and lanterns using pressurized fuel or propane with an on/off switch are allowed. For more information on fire restrictions, please visit: https://www.fs.usda.gov/.../giff.../alerts/fire-restrictions
For additional information visit the Washington Smoke Blog - https://wasmoke.blogspot.com/or Air Now - www.airnow.gov

Additional information is available on social media at:
USFS - Gifford Pinchot: https://www.facebook.com/GiffordPinchot
WWIMT: https://www.facebook.com/WWIMT;
Email: [email protected]
Please see attached map of the Skyo Fire area.