Quick response by local, state and federal fire crews contained a handful of small wildfires last week, most sparked by lightning. About 18 firefighters from all four stations in Okanogan County Fire District 6 responded to eight incidents in just four and a half hours on Wednesday (Aug. 12), Assistant Chief Rusty Stamps said.
Scattered thunderstorms on Tuesday and Thursday nights (Aug. 11 and 13) sparked multiple new fires in the Methow Valley and nearby mountains. With considerable rainfall in most of the affected area, all were controlled while they were still quite small.
District 6 worked with crews from the U.S. Forest Service, Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to extinguish fires, including small lightning fires near Twisp and Wolf Creek, Stamps said.
A single dead tree on Patterson Lake Road near the Chickadee Trailhead was struck by lightning and was ablaze from top to bottom, dropping burning limbs onto the ground. DNR crews helped contain the fire and cut the tree, Stamps said.
Fortunately, the storm also dumped heavy rain, particularly in the upper valley, and the wet ground and vegetation helped subdue the lightning starts, Stamps said.
Fire crews from the Methow Valley Ranger District have controlled the Crescent Mountain Fire, which burned 1/10 acre in the upper Twisp River drainage, according to Okanogan-Wenatchee Public Affairs Specialist Deborah Kelly. A fire on Goat Wall near Mazama also burned 1/10 acre and was in patrol status as of Tuesday (Aug. 18).
Ranger district crews followed up on other smoke checks, including one on McClure Mountain, but found nothing, Kelly said.
Six rappelers responded to the Sisi Fire, about 8 miles northwest of Stehekin, after the Aug. 14 storm. Rollout of burning debris continued to pose problems, but there was no open flame along the edges, according to a weekend update from the Okanogan-Wenatchee.
Not all of the eight incidents on Wednesday were sparked by lightning. A fire near Carlton ignited when winds blew tree branches into a powerline. And an accident on Bear Creek Road propelled a vehicle onto the grass, where it caught fire, burning about 1/4 acre. A WDFW fire truck had knocked down the main part of the fire before FD6 arrived, Stamps said.
District 6 also responded to calls about what appeared to be smoke but was actually rain clouds. They also followed up on a call about an orange glow in the distance that looked like a fire but turned out to be the sun, Stamps said.
Regional fires
The moisture and intensive firefighting efforts improved containment on other fires in the region over the past week.
There was relatively little growth on the Ptarmigan Fire in the Pasayten Wilderness, about 20 miles northwest of Mazama. The fire grew less than 1,000 acres over the week, and containment increased substantially, from 8% to 55% as of Monday (Aug. 17).
The most active part of the fire is at the southern end, in heavy fuels in the Rock Creek and Middle and West Fork Pasayten River drainages, according to the team managing the fire.
Fire crews have been cutting and masticating trees and improving roads to create control lines. The line from the Yellow Jacket Sno-Park to Sweetgrass Butte has been completed, according to the update.
A water tender working on the Ptarmigan Fire went off the road and slid down the embankment of Goat Creek Road. The operator was treated for minor injuries at a local hospital, according to the Ptarmigan Fire Information update.
The Sinlahekin Fire near Loomis and Tonasket remains the largest in the state at 154,162 acres. Containment had increased slightly to 44% as of Tuesday (Aug. 18).
Fire crews extinguished several spot fires and were conducting low-intensity burn operations to secure fire lines northwest of Conconully. They are also removing trees to strengthen containment lines, according to the team managing the fire.
Although the Sinlahekin Fire received some rain in recent days, fire managers anticipate increased fire activity with isolated spotting as conditions grow warmer and drier.
Some orders to be prepared to evacuate remain in place, and recreation areas between Conconully and Loomis are still closed.
The Little Giant Fire southwest of the Methow Valley in the Entiat and Chiwawa River drainages continues to challenge firefighters. The fire had burned almost 136,000 acres as of Tuesday and was only 10% contained.
Firefighters are using infrared imaging to monitor the spot fire on the northeast shore of Lake Chelan, the flank closest to Gold Creek in the lower Methow Valley. With only small pockets of interior heat, concern over the spread of that fire has diminished, according to the fire team.
