8/22/2018 Crescent, McLeod & Holman Fire Update

CRESCENT MOUNTAIN FIRE Level 3 Evacuations

August 22, 2018 @ 8:00 a.m. Crescent Mountain Fire: 31,091 acres; 34 percent contained ●   Personnel: 342 ●   Point of Origin: Approximately 21 miles west of Twisp ●   Start Date: July 29, 2018 ●   Cause: Lightning McLeod Fire: 16,278 acres; five percent contained ●   Personnel: 474 ●   Point of Origin: Approximately eight miles north of Mazama ●   Start Date: August 11, 2018 ●   Cause: Lightning      Holman Fire: 120 acres, no containment Point of Origin: Holman Peak Start Date: August 17, 2018 Cause: Unknown   Current Activity: Crescent Mountain Fire: Yesterday, helicopters were able to use bucket drops to slow the fire progression toward Scaffold Ridge on the east and the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area on the southwest sides of the fire. With the fire progression slowed, operations will use these helicopters to drop retardant along Scaffold Ridge. A division supervisor is working with the National Park Service to develop a strategy for managing the portion of fire on the North Cascades National Park. McLeod Fire: Firefighters have completed an indirect containment line for the area around Sweetgrass that came across the line during the cold front passage. Crews worked on night shift to continue building containment on the southern perimeter of the fire and weather conditions will be favorable for making pregress in this area today. Holman Fire: This fire is located in the Pasayten Wilderness of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. There is a forest closure in effect, which includes the Pacific Crest Trail, closed at Rainy Pass on Hwy 20. There are no threats to private property or infrastructure and this fire continues to be monitored.    Evacuations: Crescent Mountain Fire: A NEW Level 3 evacuation has been issued for all persons living west of the Little Bridge Creek Intersection in the Twisp River Valley. A Level 3 evacuation means that person should evacuate NOW, do not wait. A LEVEL 2 (BE READY) has been issued for persons living WEST of Newby Creek Road to Little Bridge Creek Road in the Twisp River Valley. The Red Cross has a shelter available at the Methow Valley Community Center in Twisp. No evacuations are in effect for the McLeod or Holman Fires. Closures: The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest has issued several closure orders and a Stage II Fire Restriction. Trail closures are in effect for the North Cascades National Park near Lake Chelan National Recreation Area. See North Cascades National Park website for details. Maps and information on the closures can be found on InciWeb. Temporary flight restriction information is available at Federal Aviation Administration’s website. Smoke/Weather: Fire behavior will increase today due to very unstable atmospheric conditions. Temperatures will reach 80 in the higher elevation with variable winds at 5 miles per hour. The Washington Smoke Information’swebpage has information on smoke and public health. Smoke information in Spanish can be found on the WA Dept. of Health’s website. Area 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.