A new plan of attack, called the contain-confine strategy, was put into effect by the Wildland Fire Management Team hired to help manage the 485-acre Langille Ridge fire in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

    The strategy involves creating a containment zone spanning 12,040 acres between Yellowjacket and McCoy Creeks, said Risa Lange-Navarro, fire behavior analyst for the fire management team.

    Lange-Navarro and other representatives from the Cowlitz Valley Ranger District met Wednesday to discuss the severity of the fire. Lange-Navarro said the containment area is probably the largest the wildfire could get, though she said it is unclear whether it will grow at all due to unpredictable weather.

    “Mother nature sometimes surprises us,” she said Wednesday. “There is a 70 to 80 percent chance this fire will stay in the containment area.”

    Still, fire officials said there is no predicted end in sight this summer.

    “You’ll be living with this fire for a long time,” said Diane Hutton, incident commander for the team.

    If nothing else — though she reiterated that it’s hard to say — it looks like there is a fire season-ending weather event in early October, when snow will put out anything left smoldering, Lange-Navarro said.

    More than 60 firefighters helped to contain the 28-acre La Wis Wis fire, and were “mopping up” the last of a smoldering debris area Wednesday, said Jon Kohn, information officer for the management team.

    The management team is scheduled to assist with the fire for two weeks, though Kohn said the ranger district is more than ready to manage the fire into the rest of the summer if needed.

    Possible showers are forecast for Thursday near the Langille Ridge fire. Less than 10 spot fires caused by lightning last week are being contained, Kohn said.

    Andy Campbell: (360) 807-8208