Wildfire near Hoh River in Olympic National Park still burning after rain

Published 1:30 am Thursday, July 2, 2026

A wildfire sparked by lightning has been burning for nearly a week in the Olympic National Park.

The 86-acre Mount Tom Creek Fire is long and narrow, burning slowly and creeping up steep forested terrain onto a ridge in the foothills of Mount Olympus, approximately six miles from the Hoh Rain Forest visitor center. It is burning in old-growth forest and is 0% contained.

“A typical Olympic fire is just that. It’s fuel and slope-driven,” said Donald Svetich, a retired U.S. Forest Service fire captain who worked at the national park for nearly thirty years.

But a wildfire in one of the dampest parts of the state in June, “that’s the anomaly,” Svetich said. Lightning fires this early in the year do happen in the Olympics, he added, “it’s just not a typical pattern.”

The park received more than an inch of rain over the weekend, but the dense tree canopy prevents rain from extinguishing the fire, according to the National Park Service.

All Hoh Rain Forest facilities remain open. But the Lake of the Gods backcountry campsite has been closed, and a campfire ban is in place inside the park.

Air quality remains good, but can change quickly. Wildfire smoke was reported on Monday.

Svetich said there’s a “strong possibility” that the fire will burn into late July or early August due to the amount of vegetation and other organic material in an old-growth forest. The location and difficult terrain also make it hard for firefighters to access and contain.

“One, it’s remote, but two, you’re dealing with a large amount of ground fuel and very large ground fuel in some cases,” Svetich said. “On top of that, you also have a very deep duff layer.”

The duff layer is made up of partially decomposed organic material. It can be “extraordinarily deep” in areas that haven’t experienced a fire in years, he added, noting the material can hold the fire for long periods of time.

Crews are assessing park infrastructure, identifying at-risk areas in the Hoh River valley and developing contingency plans to deploy if the fire were to expand.

“Fire personnel continue to evaluate safe and effective suppression and containment options in the hazardous, rugged landscape,” the National Park Service said in a Monday update.