Saturday, September 19, 2020

9/19/2020 Cold Creek Fire Update

 

Acres:610                                                                                      Personel:222

Percent Containment: 12%                           Start Date: September 15, 2020

Residences Threatened:50                                                              Injuries: 0

Current Situation: Today: Additional resources arrived today to assist with this incident. Overnight, winds continued to spread the fire, increasing the acres of burned land. Throughout the morning, efforts by ground resources and air assets, were able to slow the expansion of the west flank on the north side of Highway 12. Other firefighters continued to reinforce existing containment lines on the portion of the fire South of Highway 12 and preparing control lines on the east area along the Indian Creek area.

A new spot fire occurred over night from rolling debris across Highway 12 on the west end of the fire. The spot was contained today by firefighters. While the rain was welcome, it brought lightning with it. Firefighters and Air operations had to stop work and take shelter while the storm passed over.

 

Road Information: Highway 12 remains closed through the fire area due to boulders and burning material falling on to the roadway.  The resources working that division of the fire have been assessing the situation. Road information can be found at https://www.wsdot.com/traffic/trafficalerts/southcentral

Weather and Fire Behavior: The storm that came in dumped a good amount of moisture, but it would take a couple of days of wetting rains to make a big impact. The winds that came with the cold front are pushing the fire back down slope. 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 to burn, it is natural to get relaxed with the evacuation levels. 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 “community meeting” at 8:15 AM on Monday. Incident management team members will be live on KIT Radio 1280 AM to give an update on the fire and answer questions that viewers have. If you have questions, please call of email us ahead of time and we will get an answer for you. We will keep a list of the most common ones, as well as any new ones that are called in that day.

Online Cold Creek Fire Updates:

InciWeb at  Inciweb cold creek info  Facebook at @SEWAIMT

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