Locally grown, internationally known
The Crescent Mountain and McLeod fires became the top priority wildfires in the nation on Sunday (Sept. 2), which meant more crews and equipment have become available to fight the fires.
The priority status was due in part to a decrease in fires in other parts of the nation, said Brandon Cichowski, …
Residents hungry for fire-related news look to a variety of social media sources By Marcy Stamper Posts like these pepper the Crescent Mountain Fire Facebook page: Really appreciate the communication. It’s not as scary when we know what’s going on. Whether it’s good news or not, I feel better understanding exactly where we stand. Thanks […]
By Marcy Stamper A spot fire from the Crescent Mountain Fire escaped the fire line along War Creek – evading even a sprinkler system – and got into dead timber, burning higher on the ridge, producing a huge plume of smoke on Thursday afternoon (Aug. 16). Because the new growth moves the fire further down […]
A ridge of high pressure over north central Washington is expected to persist through the week, which means that very poor air quality will continue to plague Okanogan County. Due to smoke from wildfires, air quality throughout the county ranges from “unhealthy” to …
Fire crews, who already had their hands full with the Crescent Mountain Fire that’s burned 26 1/2 square miles in the upper Twisp River drainage, were challenged by powerful weather on Saturday (Aug. 11). The day began with an early-morning lightning storm that ignited 17 new …
Judy and Jim Harvey watched gratefully as a crew of Nomex-clad firefighters assembled a large plastic water tank next to their hilltop home on Elbow Canyon Road near Twisp last Saturday morning (Aug. 11). The portable tank holds 1,000 gallons of water to feed a …
Steep terrain limits options By Marcy Stamper The Gilbert Fire continued to grow on Thursday, although it was a “fairly benign day,” said Shelby Erickson, the division supervisor for the 16-person Type 3 Incident Management Team from Arizona handling the fire. Erickson was one of a dozen fire managers, elected officials and emergency managers who […]
The Gilbert/Crescent Fire grew from 250 acres to approximately 4,500 between Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning (Aug. 2). A public meeting regarding the Gilbert Fire will be held at the Methow Valley Community Center tonight (Thursday) at 6:30 p.m. …
**Updated at 6:15 p.m., 8/1/2018: The road closure due to the Gilbert and Crescent Fires has been moved back to the Buttermilk intersection (click link to view a map of the area). Campers and hikers at locations past the intersection are being asked to leave the area. The Buttermilk access to Black Pine Lake and […]
W. Chewuch Road blaze caused by errant chipmunk By Marcy Stamper Commonplace ignition sources like lightning strikes — and some less-routine ones — combined with tinder-dry conditions to spark several wildfires in the Methow Valley and North Cascades in the past week. Multi-agency crews responded to a wildfire started by a chipmunk on West Chewuch […]
