9/4/2022 OR/WA Lightning Map

9/4/2022 Cedar Creek Fire

9/4/2022 Double Creek Fire Update

9/4/2022 Rum Creek Fire Update

9/4/2022 White River and Irving Peak Fires Update

 

Contact Fire Information at (509) 202-4184 from 8AM-8PM 2022.whiteriver@firenet.gov White River and Irving Peak Fire Update September 4, 2022 - 9:00 AM Plain, WA – Lightning started the White River and Irving Peak Fires on August 11. The fires are burning on the Okanagan-Wenatchee National Forest, northwest of Plain, WA. Suppression Strategy – Fire managers are continuing to implement our long-term strategy including the use of primary and contingency perimeter lines for containment. Tactics include completion and reinforcement of fire lines (roads and hand line). Operations – A more seasonal, cooler weather pattern moves over the fire area tomorrow moderating fire behavior. Smoke may continue to be visible over the next several weeks as remaining interior fuels continue to smolder and burn out. Firefighters will continue to actively manage both fires over the coming weeks with a long-term strategy in place. Due to moderating fire behavior, fire updates will transition to every other day meaning there will be no update tomorrow. Daily updates may resume if a change in fire activity occurs. White River Fire - Acres: 1,348; 1% contained Location: Sears Creek area of the White River drainage, approximately 14 miles NW of Plain, WA.   A cold front moved into the area yesterday and brought gusty winds out of the northwest. The increased winds caused some interior burning and smoke throughout the fire. The fire was most active in the southeast corner; however, the fire experienced minimal growth. Today, firefighters will continue to monitor the southern portion of the fire while remaining ready for initial attack on any new fire starts.   Irving Peak Fire - Acres: 2,937; 7% contained Location: Approximately 16 miles NW of Plain, WA The Irving Peak Fire saw limited growth primarily on the northwest corner influenced by breezy conditions. The fire experienced low-to-moderate fire behavior with backing, flanking and short-range spotting. Containment lines on the southern flank continue to hold. On the eastern edge, the fire crossed Ninemile Creek, but is currently holding in place. Today, firefighters will improve containment lines while monitoring the fire as it backs down towards containment lines. Firefighters will also remain ready to assist with any new initial attacks.   Weather and Fire Behavior – Winds will be breezy again today as another dry cold front approaches the region. Westerly wind with gusts of 20 to 30 mph is expected, with the highest gusts across the ridgetops. Afternoon relative humidity will be slightly lower than yesterday, but will remain above critical levels. Air quality and smoke outlook – Smoke from multiple wildfires in northern California and Oregon continues to move north into the area in addition to smoke generated from local fires. Smoke levels in the Lake Wenatchee area have a high probability to increase throughout the day. The current smoke outlook, along with information about air quality health recommendations during smoky conditions, is available at: https://outlooks.airfire.org/outlook/84d849be and at Washington Smoke Blog https://wasmoke.blogspot.com/ Closures – Several road and area closures are in place for the safety of firefighters and the public. Fire managers are asking people to please respect these closures while recreating in the area. An emergency closure, issued by the Forest Service, remains in place for the Little Wenatchee Road (Forest Service Road [FSR] 65) to include the section between the National Forest boundary and the junction of FSR 65 and FSR 6700.    For additional information about current closures, please visit the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest - Home (usda.gov). Restrictions - Campfires are not allowed anywhere within the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. Stage 2 Restrictions are now in effect for the entire forest, including campgrounds and wilderness areas: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/okawen/alerts-notices/?cid=fsbdev3_053600 Evacuations- Current Chelan County evacuation levels include a Level 2 evacuation (Be Prepared) for Sears Creek Road and Level 1 (Stay Alert) for White River Road and Little Wenatchee Road. https://www.co.chelan.wa.us/emergency-management/pages/active-emergencies Recreation impacts- In addition to the Forest closure and fire restrictions, fire officials recommend avoiding recreating in the Little Wenatchee and White River Road (FS Roads 6500 and 6400) areas. Smoke is visible from the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). The PCT remains open and is not directly impacted by the fires. However, the Little Wenatchee Ford and White River Trailheads are closed and cannot be used to access the PCT. The Buck Creek-Spider Meadow Loop is open and accessible, but smoke and nearby fire activity may impact the area. Safety message – The public is asked to please watch out for firefighters and firefighting vehicle traffic in the area. Are you pulling a trailer or boat this holiday weekend? With the low humidity and high temperatures, a small spark from a dragging safety chain can quickly create a large fire. Please be responsible and take a moment to check your tow chains. Resources- Total personnel assigned: 331 including 1-Type 1 (Hotshot) hand crew; 3-Type 2 IA (Initial Attack) hand crews; 1-type 2 hand crew; 1-camp crew; 2-heavy lift helicopters; 1-medium lift helicopter; 1-light lift helicopter; 14 engines; 1 dozer; 2 masticators; 6 water tenders; and 130 overhead personnel. Follow us online: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8329/ and www.facebook.com/WhiteRiverFireInfo Estará disponible una traducción al español en: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/news/8329/  Providing fire information at Lake Wenatchee Fire & Rescue Yard Sale  Photo: Jim Cahill

9/4/2022 Crockets Knob Fire Update

9/4/2022 Thor Fire Update

9/4/2022 Windigo-Potter-Big Swamp Fires Update

9/4/2022 Boulder Mountain Fire Update

The Boulder Mountain Fire started by lightning on Wednesday August 31, 2022 at approximately 8:30 pm. The fire is located in the Tacoma Creek and Boulder Mountain area 9 miles Northwest of Cusick, Washington. The fire is burning on Federal, State and Private land. The terrain is difficult and the fire is burning in heavy timber, slash, and beetle infested trees.

Yesterday: The fire was still very active during the day and overnight due to low humidity recoveries. This allowed for group torching, flanking, and backing. Access from the ground continues to be a challenge. Aircraft has been the primary fire suppression tactic to date. Crews continued to scout the area to make access to the fire from the ground. Dozers worked to shore up roads, create additional access, and assist firefighters on the ground where necessary. Due to the active fire behavior the fire has grown to an estimated 1400 acres. The weather event that moved through the area did not create any significant challenges for firefighters.

Today: Firefighters will continue their work with dozers and other heavy equipment to get containment lines in and work on primary and secondary ingress and egress points. That work consists of chipping and masticating to create a better road system. Aircraft will continue to be utilized as needed. The fire will continue to be active with torching, backing and moving into slash. Additional resources have been ordered and over the last few days have showed up and are being assigned to different divisions of the fire.

Weather: A warm and dry weather pattern will establish across the area after the disturbances on Saturday. This will continue through much of the week. Light terrain winds, moderate inversions, and poor relative humidity recovery at night will maintain active fire behavior.

Transition: The Type 2 Incident Management Team has been briefed and they will officially take the fire over at 06:00 tomorrow morning. The team is in place and have been briefed on strategy and tactics to date. This transition is expected to be smooth and seamless. The team brings additional overhead and access to resources due to the high priority of the fire.

Please continue to check the following sites for updated evacuation notices and campground closures. For campgrounds you can go to dnr.wa.gov and find up to date evacuation notices at: https://pendoreilleco.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Boulder-Mountain-Fire-Level-3-Evacuation-Area.pdf

Firefighter and public safety are the highest priority. We ask that the public adhere to the notices and closures that have been put in place. Firefighters will continue their work in the Tacoma Creek and Boulder Mountain area. Please stay clear of that area.

Fire information and the Incident Command Post is located at the Kalispel Pow Wow Grounds in Usk, WA. Fire information contact is Don Malone at (509) 822-8125 or you can also follow us on Facebook @NEWIMT3

9/4/2022 NWCC Morning Brief