8/19/2018 Crescent Mountain Fire Update

CRESCENT MOUNTAIN FIRE Level 3 Evacuations

Crescent Mountain Fire August 19, 2018 @ 8:00 a.m. Crescent Mountain Fire: 23,764 acres; 34 percent contained ●   Personnel: 454 ●   Point of Origin: Approximately 21 miles west of Twisp ●   Start Date: July 29, 2018 ●   Cause: Lightning McLeod Fire: 10,040 acres; no containment ●   Personnel: 408 ●   Point of Origin: Approximately eight miles north of Mazama ●   Start Date: August 11, 2018 ●   Cause: Lightning Current Activity: Crescent Mountain Fire: The Crescent Mountain Fire continues to move south on the west side of the Twisp River north of Eagle Creek. A control line is in place on Scaffold Ridge. Crews are holding the fire east of Eagle Creek and working on contingency lines from the Twisp River to Buttermilk Butte. Crews will continue monitoring and holding the line east of the Twisp River and north of Poplar Flat. Holding and mopping up will focus on Whistling Creek and the Twisp river corridor. McLeod Fire: Heavy smoke conditions and shading on the fire led to moderate fire behavior. Crews conducted tactical burnout operations approximately one mile northwest of Vanderpool Crossing and from Sweetgrass Ridge to Eightmile Road. Crews will continue improving fire line south of the fire. Evacuations: A Level 3 evacuation for West Buttermilk Creek Road and Twisp River Road, west of the Buttermilk Creek intersection. Level 3 means all residents in the affected area need to evacuate NOW. There is a Level 2 evacuation in place for residents west of Little Bridge Creek Road. No evacuations are in effect for the McLeod Fire. Closures: The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest has issued closure orders for the fire areas. Maps and information on area, road, and trail closures can be found on the fire’s InciWeb page. A temporary flight restriction is in place over the combined fire area. For details, see the Federal Aviation Administration’s website. Road closure information can be found at the WA Dept. of Transportation’s website. Smoke/Weather: Continued heavy smoke will remain in the area from local fires and Canadian fires. Temperatures may climb to 85 degrees in low elevations and near 75 degrees around 5000 feet. Wind trending to northeast at 4 to 7 mph, winds are expected to increase overnight with weather change after sunset. The Washington Smoke Information’s webpage has information on smoke and public health. Smoke information in Spanish can be found on the WA Dept. of Health’s website.   Areas businesses are open. Please consider showing your support by shopping in the local communities. Fire Information: Inciweb: Crescent Mountain: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6093/ McLeod: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6130/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrescentMTNFire/ Fire Information Center: (480) 744-9318 Email: gilbertfireinfo2018@gmail.com Incident Management Team: The Southern Area Blue Type 1 Incident Management Team.