Airplanes and helicopters have been deployed to battle the Tunnel 5 Fire on the banks of the Columbia River in Washington
An Air Tractor Fire Boss emerges from a cloud of smoke created by the Tunnel 5 Fire on July 2. The Air Boss is an agile, amphibious scooper air tanker used to fight wildland and urban fires. Photo: Jurgenhessphotography
By Jurgen Hess. July 3, 2023. The Tunnel 5 Fire started just before noon July 2 on Washington State Route 14, at mile 60 in Skamania County.
Burning on a steep, rocky slope above the busy highway (the main thoroughfare through the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge), as of the morning of July 3 it had burned up to Cook Underwood Road at the top of the slope.
The cause of the fire has not been announced.
In 2007, the Broughton Fire burned 200 acres and five houses in the same area. That fire was determined to have been caused by the BNSF Railway Company’s grinding of nearby railroad tracks. “Track grinding” or “rail grinding” is a process undertaken to address deformation and corrosion of rail tracks due to heavy use and friction. The grinding process creates sparks.
A fire-fighting jet drops 4,000 gallons of retardant on the Tunnel 5 Fire on July 2. The red color makes the retardant easy to see. The aircraft in the upper right corner is the lead plane guiding the jet into the fire drop zone. Photo: Jurgenhessphotogrpahy
As of the morning of July 3, high winds had blown the Tunnel 5 Fire more than two-and-a-half miles eastward, toward the Spring Creek National Fish Hatchery. [A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the Spring Creek National Fish Hatchery as the White Salmon National Fish Hatchery. —Ed.]
Crews from the Washington Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Forest Service and rural fire districts are fighting the fire.
Multiple airplanes are dropping fire retardant and water on hot spots and the ridge top along Cook Underwood Road. The area has numerous homes.
Consumed by flames, a home along Washington State Route 14 was an early victim of the Tunnel 5 Fire. Photo: Jurgenhessphotography
The largest plane is a McDonnell Douglas MD-87 twin-engine jet, which drops 4,000 gallons of retardant at a cost of $12,400 per drop. Several Grumman S-2T twin-engine propeller planes are dropping water on hot spots and homes in danger.
At least four single-engine Fire Boss planes are scooping up water on the fly and, like the Grummans, protecting homes and trying to cool hot spots with visible flames. The Fire Bosses can make a scoop and drop with about three minutes turnaround.
At least one home had been destroyed as of July 3.
Tunnel 5 Fire, as seen on July 2 at 11:15 p.m. from Hood River, Oregon. Lights from the Spring Creek National Fish Hatchery are visible on the shoreline at the right side of the frame. Photo: Jurgenhessphotography
The hatchery is Spring Creek National Fish Hatchery, my mistake…Jurgen Hess