Forest Service officials said the wildfires blazing through Gifford Pinchot National Forest aren’t especially “big” yet, but the assessment could change at any time as firefighters struggle with rough terrain and a growing amount of scorched acreage.

    The largest of about 10 spot fires caused by lightning last week is the Langille Ridge fire, now 470 acres.

    Though the hot weather and fire in an area of Western Washington forest known as the “asbestos zone” is unusual, research has shown that every acre of a large forest is going to burn over a period of about 50-200 years, according to Jon Kohn, press official for the Northern Rockies Wildfire Management Team that joined the firefighting operation last week.

    And at only 470 out of the Gifford Pinchot’s 1.3 million acres burned, Kohn said the fire pales in comparison to a 7,500-acre fire last year that raged through the forest near Mount Adams.

    Much of the burned area today still contains green trees, Kohn said in a press release. Most of those trees are scorched up to about three feet high.

    He called wildfires “nature’s janitor,” saying that debris tends to build up over time in the forest, essentially creating a ticking time bomb.

    “So it’s great we can respond quickly and put out fires, but it also allows for that build-up over time,” Kohn said.

    Fifty firefighters continue to work on a smaller, 28-acre timber fire near La Wis Wis campground. Crews are scouring the rest of the park to identify and respond to about 10 isolated burns caused by lightning.

    U.S. Forest Service crewman are still planning a way to put out the Langille Ridge fire, but are having a hard time due to rough terrain in the area, deep canyons and no easy way to access the blaze.