Incident Commander: Dave Leitch
Saturday, August 9, 2014 @ 9AM
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A community meeting was held Friday night in the gym at the Twisp Community Center. More than 160 members of the community attended. Representatives from the Little Bridge Creek, Carlton and Lone Mountain Fires, the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, and a Forest Service Air Resource Advisor were on hand to respond to questions.
Information Officers will again be in the Twisp and Winthrop area today to provide information about the Little Bridge Creek, Carlton Complex, and Upper Falls Fires.
The Little Bridge Creek Fire started at approximately 6:30 pm on Saturday, August 2, on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, 10 miles west of Winthrop, Washington. The fire was likely caused by lightning. Washington Incident Management Team Five (WIMT#5) assumed command of the fire at 6:00 am on Monday, August 4. The fire is currently 0% contained.
Infrared data collected last night indicates the fire is currently approximately 3,200 acres – an increase of 1,000 acres during the past 24 hours. The fire is located between Canyon Creek and Little Bridge Creek, with the exception of one small spot just across the upper end of Little Bridge Creek. Two light helicopters are assigned to the fire, additional aircraft are being borrowed from nearby fires. The helicopters are dropping water on the fire throughout the day to slow the spread on both sides of the fire.
Operations personnel continue to construct indirect line in appropriate locations between the fire and structures and infrastructure. Some of those lines will likely be used for significant firing operations to remove remaining fuel between the fire and those structures. The burn-out operations are expected to begin this weekend assuming appropriate conditions and resources are present.
Two structural groups continue to assess and prepare for structural protection efforts, should they be needed. An Initial Attack Group is prepared to address any new fires should they occur – none have occurred in the past 3 days.
No structures or infrastructure are immediately threatened. No Level 2 or Level 3 evacuation notices exist for this fire. Level 1 notification remains in place for the Pine Forest and Sun Mountain areas, and an additional Level 1 notification is in place for Twisp River Road above Elbow Coulee.
A warming and drying begins today with temperatures expected to approach 100 degrees on Monday. This will bring a chance of thunderstorms on Monday night into Tuesday.
