InciWeb Articles & Incidents for Washington and Oregon

Fire Summary: Containment on the Milepost 97 Fire has reached 50 percent. But saying that firefighters have reached the halfway point of putting the fire out is an understatement. Hand line, dug by fire crews, and bull dozer constructed line completely surround the 13,119 acre fire.The majority of the work that lies before them is mopping up, or preventing hot spots from flaring up and crossing established containment lines.A high pressure weather system will remain over the fire today that will produce high temperatures and low humidity. The public may see areas of smoke rising from well within the interior of the fire where unburned pockets of fuel exist.A level one evacuation notification remains in effect for public safety. Level one means that residents should be “ready” to evacuate if conditions warrant. Fire officials say that many areas of Oregon should consider themselves in level one when fire season is in effect.Cooperators assisting partner agencies ODF, DFPA and BLM...

Williams Flats and Lundstrom Butte Fires Update Northwest Interagency Incident Management Team 8, Incident Commander: Doug Johnson August 4, 2019 - 9:00 A.M. Special Announcements: Northwest Interagency Incident Management Team 8, Incident Commander, Doug Johnson, assumed command of the Williams Flats and Lundstrom Butte Fires yesterday evening at 6:00 pm. The fires are burning in timber, brush, and old logging slash on the Confederated Tribe of the Colville Reservation. The incident command post (ICP) is located at the Community Center in Keller, Washington and the helibase is located at the Wilbur Airport. Acreage: 10,438 Containment: 0% Fire Information: (509) 634-7341 (8:00 am to 9:00 pm); 2019.williamsflats@firenet.com Information Websites: Inciweb – https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6493 ; Facebook – Colville Tribal Broadcast, News and Information Williams Flats Fire Current Fire Information: The Williams Flats Fire become active yesterday afternoon creating a...

Actividad actual: Hoy es la última actualización que se dará. Actualizaciones futuras solo se publicarán si la situación cambia significativamente. Los bomberos continuarán centrándose en extinguir y remover material combustible en el borde del fuego, retirando equipos y provisiones excesivos, y reparando los efectos del esfuerzo de supresión en el paisaje. Un helicóptero está disponible para ayudar en caso de que sea necesario echar agua. Se espera que el clima sobre el área de incendio sea caliente y seco durante los próximos tres días, con una humedad relativa que disminuirá, pero también se predicen vientos ligeros. No se espera crecimiento en el incendio, pero las partes de combustible no quemado en el interior continuarán ardiendo y produciendo humo ligero periódicamente. Una organización local Tipo 3 comenzará a gestionar el incendio el lunes por la mañana. Para obtener información futura sobre el Incendio Left Hand, comuníquese con el Naches Ranger...

Smoke Outlook for 8/04 - 8/05Central Washington - Devore Creek Fire Issued at: 2019-08-04 07:24 PDT Fire The current size of the Devore Creek Fire is 189 acres, primarily burning timber litter and dead-and-down. This is an increase of about 9 acres, with most of the growth occurring on the west perimeter. Similar fire behavior is expected today. Smoke No immediate smoke impacts are expected at this time; however, there may be some minimal haze impacts from the Williams Flats fire west of Spokane. See attached file below for more information.

August 04, 2019 – 8:00 a.m. Acres: 189 Location: 3 air miles southwest of Stehekin, WA Completion: Season-ending weather event Cause: Lightning Estimated Cost: $569,000.00 Report Date: July 26, 2019 (ignited by lightning storms that came through on July 23 and 24) Personnel: 83, including 2 hand crews, 3 helicopters, and 33 overhead personnel Current Activity: Aerial reconnaissance reported areas of actively burning fire within the perimeter of the Devore Creek Fire, and nine acres of spread via backing and flanking. Higher temperatures are predicted in the coming days, but lighter winds are also predicted. The fire continues to burn entirely within the Glacier Peak Wilderness Area. Vegetation cleared during the prep work on the community protection line is being removed over the course of next several days. Firefighters are using a range of tactics to protect communities, assets, infrastructure in Stehekin and other public and private property, and to...

Current Activity: Today is the final daily update. Future updates will only be released if the situation changes significantly. Firefighters will continue to focus on mopping up the fire’s edge, removing excess equipment and supplies, and repairing the effects of the suppression effort on the landscape. A helicopter is available to assist with bucket drops should that be necessary. The weather over the fire area is expected to be hot and dry over the next three days, with decreasing relative humidity, but slight winds are also predicted. There is no growth expected on the fire, but unburned pockets of fuel on the interior will continue to smolder and produce light smoke periodically. A local Type 3 organization will begin to manage the fire Monday morning. For future information about the Left Hand Fire, contact the Naches Ranger District at: (509) 653-1401. NWIMT7 would like to express its gratitude to the Washington Department of Natural Resources, the Okanogan-Wenatchee...

Fire Summary:Firefighters assigned to the Milepost 97 Fire had another successful day on Friday, completing fire lines around the entire perimeter of the fire. No additional fire growth was reported on Friday and the fire remains at 13,085 acres and is 45% contained. Pre-identified initial attack resources on the Milepost 97 Fire, including both ground and aviation resources, were sent to the East Evans Fire, a new fire start Friday evening on the Or-egon Department of Forestry's Southwest Oregon District. With containment lines in place, resources working on the Milepost 97 Fire will now focus their energy on mopping up hot spots around the perimeter of the fire to ensure that it doesn’t escape containment. Crews will start at the edge of the fire, extinguishing all smokes and smoldering material within the first 20 – 50 feet of containment lines before pushing farther into the black. Firefighters will utilize handheld infrared cameras to help pinpoint hotspots in these areas...

TODAY'S NUMBERS. The fire is now 13,119 acres and 50% contained .1,371 total personnel58 hand crews18 helicopters (8 Type 1, 6 Type 2, 4 Type 3)40 engines17 dozers32

ORDER NO. 06-17-02-19-09 Devore Creek Fire Pursuant to 16 USC 551 & 36 CFR 261.50 (b), the following acts are prohibited on National Forest System (NFS) Trails within the Chelan Ranger District on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest as described below and shown in exhibit A. This Order will be effective beginning July 3 pt, 2019 and ending November 15, 2019 unless rescinded. (Please download attached PDF document for complete text of closure

August 03, 2019 – 8:00 a.m. Acres: 180 Location: 3 air miles southwest of Stehekin, WA Completion: Season-ending weather event Cause: Lightning Estimated Cost: $402,000.00 Report Date: July 26, 2019 (ignited by lightning storms that came through on July 23 and 24) Personnel: 85, including 2 hand crews, 3 helicopters, 35 overhead personnel Current Activity: High winds were accompanied by cooler temperatures and higher humidity in the area of the Devore Creek Fire yesterday. Aerial reconnaissance reported little to no spread overall. However, the fire continues to burn actively, especially in areas with heavy fuels. With lower humidity predicted in the coming days, there is a possibility of some higher intensity fire behavior. The fire continues to burn entirely within the Glacier Peak Wilderness Area. Yesterday, crews completed cutting and falling standing dead trees along the community protection line near Stehekin. “Fire behavior is dynamic and subject to change...

Actividad actual: La Oficina de Gestión de Emergencias del Valle de Yakima disminuyó el área de evacuación del Nivel 2 al Nivel 1 esta mañana porque no se espera que el incendio crezca. El trabajo de supresión está terminando y las cuadrillas están extinguiendo y removiendo material combustible y reparando el cortafuego y patrullando. Ayer un frente frío resultó en aire fresco y húmedo junto con un fuerte viento del oeste. El fuego sobre todo estuvo ardiendo y consumiendo combustibles pesados dentro de las líneas de contención. El fuego se movió lentamente en áreas no quemadas de combustibles de leña. Hoy las cuadrillas seguirán patrullando y extinguiendo y removiendo material combustible en el cortafuego. También repararán líneas de supresión y retirando mangueras y los sistemas de aspersores instalados para proteger los hogares dentro del área de evacuación. A partir de hoy y durante el fin de semana, las cuadrillas se desmovilizarán para que se les...

Fire The current size of the Devore Creek wildfire is 180 acres, primarily burning timber litter and dead-and-down. A slight increase in fire activity is expected today, as fuels begin to dry out. Fire behavior will slow at nighttime. Smoke There are no immediate impacts from smoke at this time. Monitors A smoke monitor will be put in Stehekin as a precaution. The order has been placed and should be set up on Tuesday. See related file for more information.

Current Activity: The Yakima Valley Office of Emergency Management reduced the Level 2 evacuation area to a Level 1 this morning because no further growth is expected on the fire. Suppression efforts are winding down and crews are now mopping up, working on fire line repair and patrolling. A cold front brought cool, moist air yesterday along with a strong westerly wind. Fire activity consisted primarily of smoldering and consumption of heavy fuels within containment lines. Creeping fire behavior was observed in unburned pockets of timber litter fuels. Crews will continue patrolling and mopping up the fire line today. They will also be repairing suppression lines and removing hoses and sprinkler systems installed to protect homes within the evacuation area. Beginning today and continuing through the weekend, crews will be demobilizing so they can be reassigned to other incidents. Evacuations: As of 0800 this morning, the Level 2 evacuation notice has been reduced to a Level 1. For...

The fire is now 45 percent contained. Firefighters will continue mopping in from the perimeter throughout the week to prevent flare ups and further spread.Today’s numbers are in. The fire is now 45% contained. 1,514 total personnel60 hand crews18 helicopters (8 Type 1, 6 Type 2, 4 Type 3)47 engines26 dozers32 tendersA full fire update will be released in the morning with updated acres determined from an IR

Fire Summary #Milepost97Fire:Firefighters continued to improve fire line on Friday with the majority of the perimeter of the fire in mop up. The northwest corner of the fire remained active with a burnout operation planned today to improve the line with firefighters focusing on locating unburned pockets within the interior and felling hazard trees.The fire had minimal growth since yesterday, adding only 15 acres to 13,085 acres total. Those added acres were due to burnout operations, expanding and improving containment lines along the northwest portion of the fire.A community meeting was held at North Valley high school yesterday, evening, with agency representatives from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Douglas Forest Protective Association (DFPA) and Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) providing background on the initial attack of the fire and the ongoing objectives to minimize impacts to BLM managed public O and C, state, tribal and private lands. To monitor and address smoke...

August 02, 2019 – 8:00 a.m. Acres: 180 Location: 3 air miles southwest of Stehekin, WA Completion: Season-ending weather event Cause: Lightning Estimated Cost: $319,500 Report Date: July 26, 2019 (ignited by the lightning storms that came through on July 23 and 24) Personnel: 79, including 2 handcrews, 2 helicopters, 29 overhead personnel Current Activity: Reconnaissance and infrared flights over the Devore Fire Creek Fire Thursday show it continues to grow slowly, still at high elevations in the Glacier Peak Wilderness Area. Data from an infrared flight over the fire late last night shows the fire has grown to 180 acres. Today two, twenty-person handcrews will continue to improve a community protection fire line near Stehekin. On Thursday, radio equipment was installed to establish reliable communication between fire crews and support personnel in Chelan. The incident management team is developing and implementing tactics to protect Stehekin, as well as other...

Actividad actual: Aunque hoy se espera que pase un frente frío por el área con vientos de a 25 mph, los directores del incendio no esperan que crezca más allá de su perímetro actual. Temperaturas más frescas y la mayor humedad causada por el frente frío crearán un comportamiento de fuego que se mueve lentamente y de manera ardiente. Los bomberos patrullarán hoy el perímetro del incendio y extinguirán y removerán material combustible a lo largo de la línea de fuego o cerca de ella, talarán árboles viejos o moverán troncos para que no roden cuesta abajo. Las cuadrillas también comenzarán a reparar las líneas de supresión, y quitarán las mangueras y los sistemas de aspersores que instalaron para proteger las casas dentro del área de evacuación. Permanecen cerrados los caminos Forest Road 1701 (Bald Mountain Road), Forest Road 1702 (Rock Creek Road) y Forest Road 1703 (Gold Creek Road) mientras las cuadrillas completan actividades de reparación y supresión. ...

Current Activity: Although a cold front is expected to pass through the area today with wind gusting to 25 mph, fire managers are not expecting the fire to grow beyond its current perimeter. Cooler temperatures and higher relative humidity associated with the cold front will create creeping, smoldering fire behavior. Firefighters will spend today patrolling the fire’s perimeter and mopping up, which means extinguishing or removing burning material along or near the fireline, felling snags, or moving logs so they won't roll downhill. Crews will also begin work to repair suppression lines, and remove hoses and sprinkler systems they installed to protect the homes within the evacuation area. Forest Road 1701 (Bald Mountain Road), Forest Road 1702 (Rock Creek Road), and Forest Road 1703 (Gold Creek Road) remain closed while crews complete fire suppression and repair activities. Evacuations: The Level Two evacuation area is unchanged along both sides of SR 410 from the Fire...

Video from a reconnaissance flight over the Devore Creek Fire Thursday is on Facebook at:

Today’s numbers are in. The fire is now 35% contained. 1,482 total personnel58 hand crews18 helicopters (8 Type 1, 6 Type 2, 4 Type 3)43 engines26 dozers32 tendersA full fire update will be released in the morning with updated acres burned from an IR