InciWeb Articles & Incidents for Washington and Oregon

August 22, 2018 Cougar Creek Fire Operational Update - Crews are using fire in a strategic manner to consume dead and down vegetation between the fire’s edge and containment line. This strengthens containment lines by creating a buffer between the active fire and improved lines. It also provides opportunities for firefighters to safely engage from locations where containment efforts are more likely to be successful. Today’s operations may include both hand ignition and the use of a helicopter mounted plastic sphere dispenser.

Acres: 2152 Containment: 39% Total Personnel: 109 Cause: Human-caused and under

Fires, smoking, using internal combustion engines, and welding are prohibited with certain exceptions. See the attached PDF for details of where these prohibitions apply and what the exceptions are

Update-August 22, 2018 9:00 a.m. For Immediate Release Incident Commanders: Ian Yocum, Oregon State Fire Marshal & Eric Knerr, Northwest Team 7 Contact: Rich Tyler, OSFM/Jeanne Klein, NW Team 7 541-239-3619 Follow Fire Information on Facebook Pages: Gilliam County Sheriff https://www.facebook.com/GilliamCountySheriff/ South Gilliam County Rural Fire Protection District https://www.facebook.com/South-Gilliam-County-Rural-Fire-Protection-District-783137915065669/?ref=br_rs [Condon, Oregon] Firefighters continued to make excellent progress on each of the four fires being managed under unified command by the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Blue Team and Northwest Team 7. The Stubblefield and Seale Fires have grown together and in the future will be reported as the Stubblefield Fire. Structural firefighting crews from Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office have worked hard since Friday night, August 17, to assess, prepare and protect your homes in Gilliam County while working...

Actualización del incendio Crescent Mountain 22 de agosto de 2018 @ 8:00 a.m. Incendio Crescent Mountain: 31,091 acres; 34 porcentaje de contención Personal: 342 Punto de origen: Aproximadamente 21 millas al oeste del pueblo Twisp Fecha de inicio: 29 de julio de 2018 Causa del incendio: rayo Incendio McLeod: 16,278 acres; 5 por ciento de contención Personal: 474 Punto de origen: Aproximadamente ocho millas al norte de Mazama Fecha de inicio: 11 de agosto de 2018 Causa del incendio: rayo Incendio Holman: 120 acres, no hay contención Punto de origen: Holman Peak Fecha de inicio: 17 de agosto de 2018 Causa: desconocida Actividad actual: Incendio Crescent Mountain: Ayer, los helicópteros pudieron verter para retrasar la progresión del fuego hacia Scaffold Ridge en el este y el Área Recreativa Nacional de Lake Chelan en el lado suroeste del incendio. Ya que se retrasó la progresión del fuego, las...

Actualización del incendio Crescent Mountain 22 de agosto de 2018 @ 8:00 a.m. Incendio Crescent Mountain: 31,091 acres; 34 porcentaje de contención Personal: 342 Punto de origen: Aproximadamente 21 millas al oeste del pueblo Twisp Fecha de inicio: 29 de julio de 2018 Causa del incendio: rayo Incendio McLeod: 16,278 acres; 5 por ciento de contención Personal: 474 Punto de origen: Aproximadamente ocho millas al norte de Mazama Fecha de inicio: 11 de agosto de 2018 Causa del incendio: rayo Incendio Holman: 120 acres, no hay contención Punto de origen: Holman Peak Fecha de inicio: 17 de agosto de 2018 Causa: desconocida Actividad actual: Incendio Crescent Mountain: Ayer, los helicópteros pudieron verter para retrasar la progresión del fuego hacia Scaffold Ridge en el este y el Área Recreativa Nacional de Lake Chelan en el lado suroeste del incendio. Ya que se retrasó la progresión del fuego, las...

Fires A predicted wind shift from easterly to westerly today has firefighters alert for fire spread into new areas. Humidity will be low and fires are expected to be active. Today (Wednesday) should be the last day with hot, dry conditions contributing to fire spread this week as cooler weather is on its way. Smoke Easterly winds provided some improvements in air quality yesterday but today winds shift to west/northwest moving smoke from fires in the Cascades and Canada into the Columbia Basin worsening air quality later today and overnight especially in the northern parts of the forecast area. Long Range A significant cooling trend is forecast for late in the week along with scattered rain showers in the North Columbia Basin near the Canadian border. Fires will quiet down and air quality is expected to improve for the weekend.

NORTHPORT, WA – Firefighters working on the Horns Mountain Fire made good progress yesterday. With the clearing of smoke, aviation resources were able to help those on the ground. The helicopters assigned to the fire were joined by two Blackhawk helicopters from the Washington Air National Guard. The fire is 3,568 acres; 2,932 in the US and 636 in Canada. Yesterday firefighters were able to scout and put out spot fires along the finger of fire that burned to the west on Sunday. Firefighters continued to clean up and prepare the forest roads used as containment lines to the south and east of the fire in preparation for burnouts when conditions are favorable. Crews will be staying in spike camps in either the Summit (Horns) Spike to the west of the fire or the Rosie Spike to the east. Having crews spike closer to the fire cuts down on long drives between the incident command post in Northport and fire operations. Aircraft will be able to fly again this morning, but may be grounded...

ROAD CLOSURES: Bisbee Mountain Road and Trout Lake Road are closed and barricaded at Highway 20. Nancy Creek Road is closed at the US Forest Service boundary. The emergency fire closure for several roads on the Colville National Forest remains in place. The Order is Number 06-21-12-18-09, and is posted at various locations around the

Kettle Falls, WA - The Boyds Fire is located 3 miles west of Kettle Falls, WA. The footprint of the fire is 3,413 acres and is 54 percent contained. The fire continues to burn in a mixture of timber litter, slash, brush and grass. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Yesterday, crews continued mop-up along the north side of the fire south of Nancy Creek. Burnout operations on the west side of Boyds fire will be initiated later in the afternoon as weather conditions permit. Dozers built containment lines and crews installed sprinklers around Monday’s spot fire located on the south side of Boyds fire. The spot is contained and crews will continue to monitor for hot spots in the area. Several resources are being demobilized and reassigned to other fires or returned to their local jurisdictions. Today, firefighters continue burnout operations to reduce fuels in the fire area and widen the containment lines creating more space to limit spotting over the containment lines. Aerial...

Fires A predicted wind shift from easterly to westerly today has firefighters alert for fire spread into new areas. Humidity will be low and fires are expected to be active. Today (Wednesday) should be the last day with hot, dry conditions contributing to fire spread this week as cooler weather is on its way. Smoke Easterly winds provided some improvements in air quality yesterday but today winds shift to west/northwest moving smoke from fires in the Cascades and Canada into the Columbia Basin worsening air quality later today and overnight especially in the northern parts of the forecast area. Long Range A significant cooling trend is forecast for late in the week along with scattered rain showers in the North Columbia Basin near the Canadian border. Fires will quiet down and air quality is expected to improve for the weekend.

Fires A predicted wind shift from easterly to westerly today has firefighters alert for fire spread into new areas. Humidity will be low and fires are expected to be active. Today (Wednesday) should be the last day with hot, dry conditions contributing to fire spread this week as cooler weather is on its way. Smoke Easterly winds provided some improvements in air quality yesterday but today winds shift to west/northwest moving smoke from fires in the Cascades and Canada into the Columbia Basin worsening air quality later today and overnight especially in the northern parts of the forecast area. Long Range A significant cooling trend is forecast for late in the week along with scattered rain showers in the North Columbia Basin near the Canadian border. Fires will quiet down and air quality is expected to improve for the weekend.

8/22 Natchez Fire UpdateHappy Camp, CA –An upper level low pressure area remains over the fire and is expected to move east later today bringing slightly cooler temperatures by the weekend. Today will be hot, dry and variably smoky. The fire will be most active in the afternoon as the overhead low pressure ventilates the smoke. East-northeast winds will be sustained at 12 mph, gusting to 18 mph through the morning and shifting to northwest at 5 to 9 mph, gusting to 15 in the afternoon. After nightfall, ridge winds will switch back to the northeast. Maximum temperatures are forecast to range from 83 to 93 degrees in the valleys and 73 to 83 degrees on the ridges. Relative humidity recovered to around 50 percent last night and will reach an expected low in the twenties during the late afternoon. Firefighters continue mopping up, chipping and patrolling from Mud Lake north, following the perimeter of the fire around the north end of the fire and south to the edge of the 2017 Eclipse...

Fires A predicted wind shift from easterly to westerly today has firefighters alert for fire spread into new areas. Humidity will be low and fires are expected to be active. Today (Wednesday) should be the last day with hot, dry conditions contributing to fire spread this week as cooler weather is on its way. Smoke Easterly winds provided some improvements in air quality yesterday but today winds shift to west/northwest moving smoke from fires in the Cascades and Canada into the Columbia Basin worsening air quality later today and overnight especially in the northern parts of the forecast area. Long Range A significant cooling trend is forecast for late in the week along with scattered rain showers in the North Columbia Basin near the Canadian border. Fires will quiet down and air quality is expected to improve for the weekend.

Update-August 22, 2018 For Immediate Release Incident Commanders: Ian Yocum, Oregon State Fire Marshal & Eric Knerr, Northwest Team 7 Contact: Rich Tyler, OSFM/Jeanne Klein, NW Team 7 541-239-3619 Follow Fire Information on Facebook Pages: Gilliam County Sheriff https://www.facebook.com/GilliamCountySheriff/ South Gilliam County Rural Fire Protection District https://www.facebook.com/South-Gilliam-County-Rural-Fire-Protection-District-783137915065669/?ref=br_rs [Condon, Oregon] Firefighters continued to make excellent progress on each of the four fires being managed under unified command by the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Blue Team and Northwest Team 7. The Stubblefield and Seale Fires have grown together and in the future will be reported as the Stubblefield Fire. Structural firefighting crews from Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office have worked hard since Friday night, August 17, to assess, prepare and protect your homes in Gilliam County while working alongside...

Firefighters were able to take advantage of the cooler temperatures yesterday and higher relative humidity recoveries overnight to make progress on the fire. Some growth did occur on the southeastern edge. The total acreage is now at 35,287. A community meeting is scheduled for tonight, August 22, at 7:00 p.m. at the Paisley Community Center. Crews will work today to limit the spread of the fire to the north, east, and south as conditions allow and work to minimize suppression impacts to riparian areas. Additional fire resources will continue to arrive today. Continued hazards for firefighters are snags, dead and down lodgepole pine and difficult terrain. The temperatures today in the fire area are forecasted to be in the 70’s to lower 80’s with relative humidity at 15-30%. Light northerly winds in the morning are expected to switch to westerly in the afternoon with gusts up to 15 mph. Warming and drying should occur over the fire this afternoon and fire behavior is...

August 22, 2018 @ 8:00 a.m. Crescent Mountain Fire: 31,091 acres; 34 percent contained Personnel: 342 Point of Origin: Approximately 21 miles west of Twisp Start Date: July 29, 2018 Cause: Lightning McLeod Fire: 16,278 acres; five percent contained Personnel: 474 Point of Origin: Approximately eight miles north of Mazama Start Date: August 11, 2018 Cause: Lightning Holman Fire: 120 acres, no containment Point of Origin: Holman Peak Start Date: August 17, 2018 Cause: Unknown Current Activity: Crescent Mountain Fire: Yesterday, helicopters were able to use bucket drops to slow the fire progression toward Scaffold Ridge on the east and the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area on the southwest sides of the fire. With the fire progression slowed, operations will use these helicopters to drop retardant along Scaffold Ridge. A division supervisor is working with the National Park Service to develop a strategy for managing...

August 22, 2018 @ 8:00 a.m. Crescent Mountain Fire: 31,091 acres; 34 percent contained Personnel: 342 Point of Origin: Approximately 21 miles west of Twisp Start Date: July 29, 2018 Cause: Lightning McLeod Fire: 16,278 acres; five percent contained Personnel: 474 Point of Origin: Approximately eight miles north of Mazama Start Date: August 11, 2018 Cause: Lightning Holman Fire: 120 acres, no containment Point of Origin: Holman Peak Start Date: August 17, 2018 Cause: Unknown Current Activity: Crescent Mountain Fire: Yesterday, helicopters were able to use bucket drops to slow the fire progression toward Scaffold Ridge on the east and the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area on the southwest sides of the fire. With the fire progression slowed, operations will use these helicopters to drop retardant along Scaffold Ridge. A division supervisor is working with the National Park Service to develop a strategy for managing...

Community meeting scheduled for Thursday, August 23rd in Entiat at Chelan County Fire District #8, Station #1 (2200 Entiat Way) at 6:00 p.m. Acreage: 39,208 Containment: 40 percent Personnel: 868 Cougar Creek Fire: Today, if conditions allow, firefighters will begin low intensity burnout operations along the western edge of the fire. Residence and community members around Plain can expect to see an increase in activity and smoke due to these operations. Winds and smoke moderated yesterday, allowing aircraft to begin flying and using water and retardant to help slow the spread of the fire on both the western edge around Maverick Saddle and the northeastern edge around Grandmas Creek. Crews will continue to assess structures in the communities of Chiwawa Pines, Shugart Flats and Plain while also continuing to use dozers and other heavy equipment to prepare the secondary containment line above the communities. Structures in the upper Entiat River Valley will also continue...