Figure 7. — Blowdown and bumout in Padc River area. 



smoke pall. A scout had left the Pack River 

 camp and was at Youngs Creek trying to 

 establish radio contact with the rescue team. 

 Sometime during this period, the fire overran 

 the dozer boss and operator near Fault Lake 

 at the head of McCormick Creek. As the res- 

 cue team reached the mouth of McCormick 

 Creek (fig. 6), they could see flames on the 

 ridge just southwest of them. 



1900. As the fire front reached the lower 

 reaches of the ridge between McCormick and 

 Homestead Creeks, it was slowed by the 

 steeper slopes, indrafts coming up and down 

 Pack River, and a suppressed wind effect at 

 the lower elevations. The ground fire was 

 probably lagging the main front with the 

 brush controlling spread, but considerable 

 crowning was still occurring. 



The rescue team moved down Pack River 

 under the advancing front of the fire and met 

 the scout at Youngs Creek. Winds were break- 

 ing boughs and tops out of nearby young 

 timber. Considerable spotting over Pack River 

 was observed by others but the rescue team 

 and scout saw only one large firebrand. WhUe 



at Youngs Creek'they saw fire cross the road 

 about one-fourth mile upriver. They moved 

 out toward the fire camp and estimated they 

 were 3 to 4 minutes ahead of the fire. Upon 

 their return to the fire camp, radio contact was 

 made with the Roman Nose lookout instruct- 

 ing him to meet a pickup truck in Falls Creek. 

 The pickup left Sandpoint, Idaho, near 1900. 



2000. Shortly after 1900 the fire swept 

 down Jeru Creek so that the entire 5-mile 

 front was in the Pack River drainage (see fold- 

 out map). For the next half hour the fire 

 front was nearly stalled due to the turbulent 

 winds created by indrafts up and down Pack 

 River and down McCormick Creek. Fire 

 whirls were triggered by these winds and 

 moved randomly in the area near the Pack 

 River bridge and the junction of McCormick 

 Creek and Pack River. The indrafts and fire 

 whirls caused extensive blowdown and tree 

 breakage, as may be seen in figures 7 and 8. 

 The fire activity in this area must have been 

 similar to the classical "fire storm" with its 

 intense burnout and associated winds in a 

 fixed area. 



7 



