Saturday brought lightning but no confirmed starts
A storm on Saturday morning (Aug. 29) brought plenty of lightning but no confirmed fire activity to the Methow Valley, according to the local fire district.
Meanwhile, the largest wildfires in North Central Washington have slowed after a cool, wet week.
Copious rain on Saturday appeared to put a damper on any possible lightning-induced fire starts in the Methow. Crews from Okanogan County Fire District 6 responded that morning to reports of smoke at Lucky Jim Bluff near Mazama, and up Lookout Mountain Road near Twisp, but they didn’t find any fires, Fire Chief Cody Acord said.
The Williams Butte Fire started the previous afternoon, on Friday (Aug. 28) and grew to 2 acres before it was declared to be out, according to WildCAD. That fire was about 4 miles up the Williams Creek drainage from the Twisp River, in the Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness.
Ptarmigan Fire
The Ptarmigan Fire 20 miles northwest of Mazama has grown little over the past week — just 334 acres from Aug. 25 to Monday (Aug. 31), bringing it to 25,166 acres. The fire has been most active in the middle and west forks of the Pasayten River, according to the incident management team. The fire remains at 55% containment.
The origin of the Ptarmigan Fire, which started July 17, remains undetermined.
Harts Pass Road and the road to the Goat Peak Lookout Trailhead are open, but travelers are advised to reduce speeds and watch for heavy equipment being used for fuel removal and road repairs.
As of Monday, all trails north of Harts Pass were closed, including the Pacific Crest Trail.
Sinlahekin Fire
The Sinlahekin Fire in Okanogan County, which extends from Loomis to Conconully, and east to Tonasket, had burned 166,378 acres and was 39% contained as of Tuesday. These numbers were adjusted from last week based on more accurate measurements of the fire’s footprint.
Resources in recent days were focused on the fire’s west side, where it was encroaching on the Pasayten Wilderness. Some of the 1,312 personnel on that fire worked to extinguish hot spots in heavy fuel north of Honeymoon Pass, according to an update Tuesday (Sept. 1) from Central Washington Fire Information.
Much of the fire’s western flank was in mop-up.
The Sinlahekin Fire was started by lightning on July 26.
Little Giant Fire
At 171,302 acres as of Tuesday (Sept. 1), the Little Giant Fire in Chelan County was the state’s largest wildfire. More than 2,000 personnel are battling this blaze, which started with a lightning strike on July 15 near Lake Wenatchee and has burned through portions of the Entiat and Chelan valleys.
While the fire jumped to the east side of Lake Chelan in early August, drawing the attention of lower Methow Valley residents, the fire currently shows no signs of spreading further east. Most of the fire within the Chelan Valley is contained.
To the north, the Sisi Fire is burning in steep terrain above Stehekin. The upper Stekehin Valley is under a Level 1 (be ready) evacuation order. The fire, which was started by lightning on Aug. 14, is at 2,244 acres with 0% containment.
Air quality
Methow Valley residents and visitors have been breathing easier over the past few days. The Air Quality Index peaked this past week at 206 (very unhealthy) on Friday evening (Aug. 28) at Upper Beaver Creek but was reported as 53 (moderate) on Tuesday morning (Sept. 1), according to PurpleAir.
The National Weather Service forecast for the Methow through Labor Day suggests the area might be transitioning out of fire season. Temperatures will range from the mid 60s to the mid 70s through Monday (Sept. 7), with a chance of showers and occasional thunderstorms throughout the period.
