Notices alerting people to be ready to evacuate were issued just 20 minutes after a fire on Balky Hill Road was reported on Wednesday (Aug. 19), at already 10 acres in size and spreading fast in dry grass.
About 22 firefighters from all four stations with Okanogan County Fire District 6 responded right away, along with crews from the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the U.S. Forest Service, according to District 6 Assistant Chief Rusty Stamps.
Firefighters worked on structure protection while bulldozers created fire lines and helicopters dumped water on the blaze, which was burning on the east side of Balky Hill near Upper Beaver Creek, with the head of the fire east and south of Campbell Lake.
By 7:30 that night, forward progression of the fire had been halted, District 6 and aircraft were released, area roads were reopened, and the notice alerting people to be ready to evacuate was lifted.
DNR fire crews remained on scene overnight and on Thursday, conducting burnouts on unburned vegetation to tie up the fire line, Stamps said. The fire had burned 300 acres before it was declared to be contained.
The cause is under investigation by DNR.
Ptarmigan Fire
District 6, DNR and the Forest Service responded to multiple fires ignited by lightning on Saturday morning (Aug. 22). There were about 850 lightning strikes in the Methow Valley alone, with no significant rain, Stamps said.
Two fires ignited in the Libby Creek/Smith Canyon area west of Carlton, where one burned about 6.5 acres on the ridgeline and the other 1.5 acres, according to an update from the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. Helicopter support from the Forest Service helped extinguish those blazes.
Lightning strikes also started a fire in the timber above East Chewuch Road, which burned 1/2 acre, and below the fire lookout on Goat Creek Road, which was contained at just 1/10 acre.
“With fuels extremely dry, any new lightning will be highly effective at starting additional fires,” the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest said.
Fire behavior on the Ptarmigan Fire 20 miles northwest of Mazama has been moderate, with little movement or growth in the past week. Heat from the fire is confined to the Middle and West forks of the Pasayten River, according to the team managing the fire.
The fire, started by a lightning strike in July, was just under 25,000 acres and 55% contained as of Sunday (Aug. 23). The team managing the fire warned that fire activity could increase in warm temperatures.
Fire crews are continuing to do mastication work on trees removed along upper sections of Goat Creek Road in the national forest. Harts Pass Road has reopened, although repair work is ongoing and all trails north of Harts Pass are still closed, including the Pacific Crest Trail. People are advised to avoid the Forest Service roads while fire and repair operations are winding down.
Sinlahekin Fire
Although progress has been made in containing the Sinlahekin Fire near Loomis and Conconully, the fire was active in the northwest sector, igniting several spot fires. The fire, at 155,491 acres as of Tuesday (Aug. 25), grew about 2,000 acres in the past week and is the largest in the state.
Recreation areas between Conconully and Loomis, including the Loomis State Forest, are still closed, although state parks near Conconully are open, according to the team managing the fire. Some roads in the area have reopened, although they are still busy with fire traffic.
Emergency personnel are evaluating damage from the fire, which has burned homes, structures and fencing, and had a significant effect on grazing areas.
The Sinlahekin Fire was started by lightning in late July.
Little Giant Fire
The Little Giant Fire, which has burned 147,537 acres west of Lake Chelan and in the Entiat River drainage, is now the top-priority fire in the nation. It remains the most intractable in the region, at just 21% containment as of Tuesday. The fire grew about 13,000 acres in the past week.
The team responding to the fire includes active-duty soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the Washington National Guard, and about 70 firefighters and incident managers from Australia and New Zealand.
Winds with gusts up to 40 miles per hour over the weekend stirred up the fire while helicopters made water drops to slow the fire spread, according to the California Interagency Incident Management Team 5, which recently took control of the fire. Growth has been minimal on the northern portion of the fire and the Lake Chelan area is in mop-up.
The Little Giant Fire is in steep and often inaccessible terrain and many trails in the area are closed. The fire, which was caused by lightning, has burned homes and structures. Evacuation orders are still in effect in Chelan County.
Above-average fire season
On Monday, 224 new fires were reported nationwide, including 13 new large fires, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Fire activity in the northwest is the highest in the country, with 30 large fires (15 each in Washington and Oregon) and 11 complex incident-management teams assigned. Still, there is at least one large fire in each of the 10 areas nationwide.
Firefighters have responded to 51,063 wildfires this year, which have burned more than 7.8 million acres across the United States. That’s 129% of the 10-year average for fires and 166% for acres burned, according to the interagency fire center.
Air quality improved substantially in the Methow Valley over the weekend but, depending on the time of day, conditions remain unhealthy and even hazardous near Conconully and in the Wenatchee and Chelan areas from the Sinlahekin, Little Giant and other fires in the region.
