9/20/20 Cold Creek Fire Update

 

Cold Creek Fire Update September 19, 2020 IC- Leonard Johnson Information line 509-761-4858

Acres:626                                                                                    Personnel:261 Percent Containment: 28%                           Start Date: September 15, 2020 Residences Threatened:50                                                               Injuries: 0 Current Situation: Today: Crews made good progress today building more direct fire line as fire activity was lessened on parts of the fire after some precipitation was received overnight and humidity was higher during the day today. Firefighters continue to meet objectives increasing containment of the fire, building contingency lines to control fire that might escape, and clearing brush from along roadways around structures that may spread fire. The east and south flanks of the fire saw increased containment today while fire moving west along Highway 12 has been slowed. The fire in the northwest wilderness area continues to burn and remains active. Sunday will focus on continuing to improve the fire lines and burn operations today to secure the eastern flanks. Firefighters will hopefully be assisted by air support if visibility remains improved. Road Information: Highway 12 remains closed through the fire area. Work continues on clearing debris from fire suppression work and falling material into the roadway. Current road information can be found at https://www.wsdot.com/traffic/trafficalerts/southcentral Weather and Fire Behavior: The storm that came in overnight Friday provided a good pulse of rain, increased humidity and lowered temperatures in the vicinity of the fire area, but dry conditions persist just down valley. This did allow firefighters an opportunity to more directly attack the fire on Saturday however, and begin to gain some containment with lessened fire behavior. Engines and crews are widening roadways and natural land breaks to create fire breaks that will hold in gusty wind conditions. Evacuations: As the fire continues, it is natural to get relaxed as evacuation levels persist. Evacuation levels are evaluated daily but remain unchanged. Please remember this is an active fire and citizens need to remain aware that conditions could change. Please see the Yakima County Office of Emergency Management at www.co.yakima.wa.us for details. Closures: Fire restrictions are in effect and can be found at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/fire-restrictions. The Pacific Crest Trail is open in the White Pass area at this time. Please see the Pacific Crest Trail Association at www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/closures for a current trail map. Community Meeting: We will be having a “live radio broadcast community meeting” at 8:15 AM on Monday. Incident management team members will be live on KIT Radio 1280 AM to talk about this fire and answer questions that viewers have. If you have questions, please call or email us ahead today and we will get an answer for you. We will keep a list of the most common ones to talk about Monday, as well as any new ones that are called in. INCIWEB: Inciweb is a web site that lists all big fires around the country. You can keep up with the Cold Creek fire at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7198/