Two lightning-caused fires are burning in the upper Duckabush and
Dosewallips River valleys, in the eastern section of Olympic National Park.

One fire is 10 acres while the second is one acre. Both are located deep within the park and in wilderness areas.

Here is the rest of the park news release:

“These fires were ignited by early-season thunderstorms and are a natural part of the Olympic ecosystem,” said Olympic National Park Superintendent Karen Gustin. “Considering their size, extremely steep surroundings and location well within park and wilderness boundaries, we are managing these fires for resource benefit through confinement and continued monitoring.”

Lightning storms on June 13 and July 11 resulted in over 30 lightning strikes within the park, with four fires known to be ignited. Two of these fires are still known to be active.

The Constance fire in the upper Dosewallips drainage is currently 10 acres and was ignited by a lightning strike on July 11; it was first reported on July 17. Its remote location and extremely steep terrain makes access for firefighters very difficult and would require technical climbing skills, presenting significant risk to any firefighters. Given these factors, park crews are managing the Constance fire through a confinement strategy, in which existing barriers like rock outcrops, trails and ridge tops are used
as natural firebreaks. Crews will continue to monitor this fire.

The Lake Constance Trail is closed due to hazardous conditions including falling trees and rocks.

Under clear conditions, the Constance fire smoke column is visible at times from the Silverdale area, and can be observed via a private webcam at www.drdale.com.

In the upper Duckabush Valley, the Ten-Mile fire was reported by a hiker on June 23 and has been monitored by members of the park’s fire crew since then. The fire is believed to have been caused by a single lightning strike to a tall old-growth Douglas fir on June 13.

Two other small fires in the upper Dosewallips drainage were reported on July 11 and smoke columns were easily visible from Hurricane Ridge. Smoke has not been visible from either of these fires since July 13.

Warm, dry weather continues to prevail throughout the park and is forecast through the next 10 days, raising the possibility of increased fire activity.

Managing these fires for resource benefits meets guidelines as outlined in the Olympic National Park Fire Management Plan, approved in December 2005 after extensive public review and comment. Naturally occurring fires create a patchwork of different forest types and provide a mosaic of habitats for a wide variety of plants and animals.

Recreatioanl sturgeon fishing in the Columbia River estuary will run another three days, starting Friday. Fishery managers from Washington and Oregon announced late Thursday the joint decision after assessing catch data through July 19.

Here is the rest of the news release:

By their action, the two states will allow anglers to catch and retain legal-size white sturgeon Friday through Sunday (July 24-26) between the mouth of the Columbia and the Wauna powerlines near Cathlamet.

Those additional fishing days are designed to give anglers an opportunity to catch up to 2,400 sturgeon still available for harvest after a six-day opening earlier this month, said Brad James, a fish biologist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

"Fishing was generally good, but we didn't get the turnout we expected because a lot of anglers decided to fish for salmon off the coast," James said. "That left room for some extra fishing days."

This year's catch guideline for the estuary fishery is 15,529 fish. James said this week's three-day opening is not expected to cause the catch to exceed that guideline.

The daily catch limit is one white sturgeon, with a fork-length measurement of 41 inches to 54 inches. All green sturgeon must be released.