9/28/2022 White River, Irving Peak and Minnow Ridge Fires Update

 

White River, Irving Peak, and Minnow Ridge Fires Update Fire Information Line: 509-557-0973 September 28, 2022   --  8:30 a.m.

·   Acres:  9,579 ·   Personnel:  92 ·   Location:  15 miles northwest of Plain, WA ·   Start Date:  August 11, 2022 ·   Estimated Completion:  October 30, 2022               Fire updates will be occurring about once a week, or as conditions change.   Operations on the White River and Irving Peak Fires: Over the past several days the Irving Peak and White River fires experienced minimal fire growth. The fires have been burning in close proximity to each other and have merged into one fire. The fire has slowly moved downhill to meet containment lines and road systems in the area.   Along the western perimeter in the Little Wenatchee drainage, a few spot fires occurred due to large burning logs rolling down the steep terrain. Crews were able to get access to the spot fires in the bottom of the drainage and contain them, preventing the fire from crossing the Little Wenatchee River.   Another spot fire on the southeast corner was located across White River on a peninsula where the river meanders. This and a few other small spot fires were contained by firefighters over the past few days. Helicopters have been used for water drops as needed to assist in controlling spot fires and keeping the fire in check including the area above Windmill Lane.   A Burned Area Emergency Response Team arrived on September 26 to complete initial assessments of post-fire conditions and determine the need for additional emergency stabilization actions to prevent loss of life and property and critical and natural resources.   Additional suppression repair work will continue on the Irving Peak side of the fire including chipping, repairing culverts, road surfacing, and identifying material that needs to be dispersed to prevent erosion and watershed damage.   Due to the increase in suppression repair activities in the coming days, the public can expect to see more vehicles and heavy equipment traffic on the White River Road #6400 and Chiwawa River Road #6200.   Operations on the Minnow Fire: The Minnow fire has had moderate growth with the most activity on the east-northeast perimeter in the Marble Creek area. The western edge has not crossed Chickamin Creek.   Weather and Smoke Updates: The past several days have been warm and dry, conducive to active fire conditions. Smoke from the White River, Irving Peak, and Minnow Ridge fires continues to impact local communities. A cold front is moving into the area with expected improvement of air quality this afternoon through Friday, September 30th. Smoky conditions will return Saturday through the weekend and may linger for several days.   Smoke from the Minnow Ridge fire is likely to impact the local vicinity until a season-ending event such as multiple days of significant rain or snow occurs.   Individuals who are sensitive to smoke may want to take precautions and limit outdoor activities. Closures:  Fire closure orders remain in place with the following new closure additions:  Trail 1409 (Mad River Trail) between Marble Meadow and Blue Creek Cabin. Trail 1426 (Blue Creek Trail) between Marble Meadow and intersection with Trail 1425 (North Tommy).   Trail 1426 (Blue Creek Trail) will remain OPEN between Blue Creek Cabin and Trial 1425 (North Tommy).   Evacuation levels:  All evacuations have been reduced to level 1.   Fire Information: ·      Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8329/ ·      Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhiteRiverFireInfo ·      Fire Information Center: 509-557-0973    #whiteriverfire -End-