9/21/20 Cold Creek Fire Update

Cold Creek Fire Morning Update 9-21-2020

Acres: 616
Personnel: 267
Percent Containment: 35%                          
Start Date: September 14, 2020
Residences Threatened: 50                                                       
Injuries: 0

Current Situation: Today: Crews cleaned out areas north and west of the Sand Ridge Trail, clearing snags after a successful burnout operation Saturday night. The low intensity applied fire removed a good portion of the fuel load between Hwy 12 and the main fire to the junction with the Sand Ridge trailhead. Crews remain focused on both sides of Highway 12 in the area of Sand Ridge trail and Indian Creek. The hottest part of the fire remains the northwest corner in the William O. Douglas Wilderness Area and pockets of unburned fuel throughout. Helicopters were able to complete bucket work throughout the day Sunday settling down hot spots and assisting firefighters in attaining containment. As suppression work continued in the Hwy 12 corridor, an assessment is being done to determine when Hwy 12 might be opened to through traffic.

Road Information: Currently, Highway 12 remains closed through the fire area. Washington DOT has preliminary plans to open Highway 12 late after-noon today. The most current road information can be found at the WA Department of Transportation website.https://www.wsdot.com/traffic/trafficalerts/southcentral

Weather and Fire Behavior: A warmer, drier trend as experienced Sunday is expected for the next few days. While this allows for the availability for use of air support to the firefighters, it may also provide for increased fire behavior with the drying out of fuels. There may be some evidence of increased flame and smoke with burning of pockets of fuels within the fire perimeter over the next few days. The chance for wetting rain over the fire area increases towards the end of the week beginning Wednesday.

Evacuations: Evacuation levels are evaluated daily but remain unchanged. Those evacuation levels are currently being assessed but will require notification from the Yakima County Office of Emergency Management if there is an adjustment. Please remember this is still an active fire, and citizens need to remain aware that conditions could change. Please see the Yakima County Office of Emergency Management website 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.