Fire managers evaluate risks to Methow Valley
The Pioneer Fire on Lake Chelan doubled again this past week as temperatures in the 90s and 100s persisted, with extremely low humidity even overnight. The fire had grown to 20,348 acres as of Tuesday (July 16).
Fire crews have been concentrating on protecting homes and other structures along the lakeshore and ensuring evacuation routes are available. They have also been constructing contingency fire lines, taking advantage of areas with less vegetation and rock, to try to stop the fire if it spreads uphill toward the ridgeline between the Lake Chelan–Sawtooth Wilderness and the Methow Valley Ranger District, Northwest Complex Incident Management Team 12 Field Operations Section Chief Lonnie Newton said at a community meeting in Manson on July 10.
Although the fire has expanded up the ridge from the lake, most recent growth has been to the north, prompting Chelan County Emergency Management to issue a Level 1 alert (be aware of a fire in the area) for Stehekin. Other remote communities along the east shore of the lake have been told to evacuate or be ready to evacuate.
The southern end of the fire has been fairly quiet, Northwest Complex Incident Management Team 12 Public Information Officer Ivan Huld told the Methow Valley News on Tuesday (July 16). The weather has been working against the fire crews, and the forecast includes the chance of thunderstorms on Wednesday and temperatures above 100 this weekend, Huld said.
The Pioneer Fire is moving slowly through areas of dead and downed trees and is mostly extinguished on rocky scree slopes, Northwest Team 12 Incident Commander Jeff Dimke said at the community meeting. Dimke, who’s been fighting wildfires in this region for decades, said this terrain makes it impossible to catch a fire. There’s no way, physically, to get up the ridges, and it’s far too risky to deploy fire crews in such steep topography, he said.
With the fire burning up toward the Cascade ridge, there’s a risk that it could cross to the Methow Valley later in the season as conditions dry at higher elevations, Newton said.
In that steep, rocky terrain, it’s not physically possible to go around the head of the fire to block it, although crews are doing everything possible to prevent it from topping the ridge. They have been constructing fire lines along U.S. Forest Service roads, taking advantage of greener vegetation and moister conditions up high, Newton said.
Remote area
Tackling the Pioneer Fire is especially challenging because it’s in a remote, roadless area, where fire crews and gear have to be transported 30 miles up Lake Chelan by boat or be flown in by helicopter. While initial attack on June 8 was prompt, the isolated location meant that it took extra time to bring in crews and equipment, Newton said.
Fire managers tried to send in overwhelming force, “but that’s easier said than done” in such a remote area, Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Acting Southeast Region Manager Larry Leach said at the community meeting.
While the first fire team dropped more than a million gallons of water on the fire, water doesn’t put out a fire on its own, but is used strategically in conjunction with firefighters on the ground, Paul Willard, District Ranger for the Chelan and Entiat ranger districts, said at the community meeting.
Because of the extreme terrain and exceptionally dry conditions, if a fire can’t be controlled during initial attack, it’s “darn near impossible” to suppress it, Dimke said. “Under the current conditions, there’s not a whole lot of places we can go. There’s nowhere to physically grab that fire,” he said.
Still, they’re looking for every opportunity to do so and will take advantage of any favorable weather conditions, Dimke said.
Dimke noted that he was speaking on the 23rd anniversary of the Thirtymile Fire, which killed four firefighters. This week also marks the 10th anniversary of the Carlton Complex Fire, which burned hundreds of homes in and around the Methow Valley.
There were 794 personnel assigned to the Pioneer Fire as of this week — firefighters on the ground, helicopter pilots, bulldozer operators, and management and administrative staff.
Aircraft with water scoopers and retardant are available where that would be helpful, although retardant isn’t permitted around the lake because it would be lethal to many organisms, Dimke said.
The Pioneer Fire is human caused and under investigation. No more information about the cause is available, Huld said.
As of July 16, just 14% of the fire was contained, primarily along the lakeshore. Containment is not anticipated until the end of October.
Smoke
High temperatures resulted in significant fire plumes and brought smoke to the lower Methow Valley and Twisp and surrounding areas over the weekend. The smoke was visible from Spokane and Everett.
A shift in winds was expected to create moderate and occasionally unhealthy conditions this week.
Community meeting July 17
Northwest Complex Incident Management Team 12 is holding a community meeting at Manson High School on Wednesday (July 17) at 5:30 p.m. The meeting will be streamed live on the Pioneer Fire Facebook page.
More burn bans
Okanogan County transitioned from a burn restriction to a countywide burn ban on Friday (July 12). The burn ban prohibits all campfires and charcoal barbecues. It also bans all outdoor burning, including yard vegetation, exploding gun targets, and bullet tracer rounds.
Recreational fires in a concrete, rock or steel ring are permitted if they are less than 3 feet in diameter and 2 feet in height. Recreational fires must be attended to at all times.
Propane fire pits are also allowed, as long as flames are less than 2 feet in height. Recreational and propane fires may not be burned within 25 feet of a structure or combustible material.
Pearrygin Lake State Park has banned all charcoal and wood fires. Self-contained gas and propane camping stoves are allowed. Charcoal and wood fires are also banned at Alta Lake State Park.
The state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has issued a burn ban for all the land it manages across the state. The order bans outdoor burning, campfires, charcoal briquettes and prescribed burns through Sept. 30.
In the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, campfires are permitted only in fire rings and grills at designated recreation sites and campgrounds. Campfires and charcoal barbecues are prohibited in all other areas in the forest, including informal, dispersed campsites. Pressurized liquid-fuel stoves are permitted.
