Fire danger remains extreme in county, region The Methow Valley’s first noteworthy wildfire of the season, the Burma Road Fire, was contained at 159 acres after the blaze broke out on Saturday (Aug. 1) about 5 miles north of Pateros. Crews from several agencies including the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Okanogan County […]
Fire
County, Methow Valley fire danger ‘very high’
Conditions: dry fuel, hot temps, strong winds The danger of a fire in the Methow Valley and most of Okanogan County is now “very high,” the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced. DNR increased the precaution level on Friday (July 24) from “high” to “very high” in the Methow and Valley fire danger rating […]
Twisp River Road fire destroys home, shed
District 6, DNR, USFS crews all respond Strong afternoon winds spread a fire, reported as having started in a shed, to a field and trees along the Twisp River before destroying the adjacent house the following morning. The fire, almost 5 miles up Twisp River Road, was first reported at about 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, […]
District 6 quickly contains two wildland fires
Firefighters responded to two wildland fires in just three days in the past week, when strong winds whipped up burning brush piles, quickly igniting dry vegetation nearby. Fire crews contained a fire on the Twisp-Winthrop East County Road at less than 1 acre on Thursday (March 19), although access to the upper field was complicated, […]
Forest management lessons from Carlton Complex Fire
Research: thinning, prescribed burning can make a difference It was several years after the Carlton Complex fire before Susan Prichard felt she could begin asking scientific questions about how the fire behaved. “I was honestly so devastated for our community I wouldn’t touch it … and I also honestly didn’t want to be perceived as […]
Injured firefighter’s case before state Supreme Court
Lyon contends he can sue for damages Daniel Lyon, the firefighter severely burned in the 2015 Twisp River Fire, will argue to the state Supreme Court next week that — even as a professional firefighter — he should be able to sue for damages for injuries and loss of earnings. Lyon sued the Okanogan County Electric Cooperative (OCEC) in […]
Daniel Lyon challenges state’s professional rescuer doctrine
Injured firefighter asks for repeal or exception to rule Daniel Lyon, the firefighter gravely burned in the 2015 Twisp River Fire, calls a state law “outdated and unjust” because it prevents professional firefighters from suing for damages. Lyon’s attorneys want what’s known as the professional rescuer doctrine to be overturned. Lyon filed his appeal against […]
Rendezvous fire contained quickly
Several agencies cooperate in battling 175-acre blaze Fast action by nearly 100 firefighters, aerial dumps of water and retardant, and moderate winds allowed fire crews to control a fast-moving grass fire on Rendezvous Road within seven hours of its ignition on Wednesday (July 31). The fire grew to 175 acres before it was declared 90% […]
Personal discoveries in the face of fire: a reporter’s notebook
I am pouring myself a drink, now that I am done doing the dishes and looking out my window as the planes and helicopters keep shuttling back and forth from the nearest waterbody, their bellies and buckets full, to the fire that has been burning all afternoon in the sagebrush about one-quarter mile behind my […]
WDFW’s Bear Creek prescribed burn will continue this week
A prescribed burn on Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife land, between Pearrygin Lake State Park and the Upper Bear Creek campground, will continue through the end of this week. The camping site, officially known as the Methow Wildlife Area Bear Creek No. 1 Campground, remains closed until the burn is completed. Smoke was visible […]
