InciWeb Articles WA

There will be a community meeting tomorrow, July 30th, at Nile Community Church. The meeting will begin at 6pm. The Incident Commander, Operations, Washington Department of Natural Resources, Washing Department of Fish and Wildlife, Yakima County representatives, and other distinguished guests will be available to answer your questions. Nile Community Church is located at 60 Bedrock Lane along Hwy 410.

Wildfire Update/Lake Chelan Area: Minimal new fire growth; winds likely to push fire eastJuly 29, 2019 - 10:00am• Acres: 150• Personnel: 45 • Location: 3 air miles southwest of Stehekin, Washington • Cost: $84,000.00 • Start Date: July 23, 2019 • Cause: Lightning • Completion: No estimate at this timeCurrent Activity: On Sunday an additional 20-person crew arrived to bolster efforts to reopen the historical community protection line on the southwestern edge of the community of Stehekin. With calmer winds, fire managers were able to fly over the fire where they observed low-intensity smoldering and creeping fire behavior.On Monday winds are expected to be light to moderate and will likely push any new fire growth to the east towards Castle Rock. Ground crews will continue to improve the protection line. Due to the extreme terrain, firefighter safety, and lack of roads or other natural holding features, some portions of this fire will likely continue to grow in the...

Current Activity: Yesterday firefighters constructed and strengthened containment lines on the ridge above SR410 and on the south flank and turning a corner to the north along the Rock Creek Rd. Aircraft using water drops, held spot fires in check and minimized the rate of spread on other flanks. Structure support crews continue making good progress protecting homes in the Rock Creek area by installing hose lays, sprinklers, and cutting brush. A structure protection group will continue to work within the evacuation areas to create defensible space and other protection. The highest priority objectives continue to be protecting structures, communities, and other values at risk along the 410 corridor. Today, crews will continue to construct, hold, and strengthen both direct and indirect lines around the perimeter of the fire and construct contingency lines as needed. Evacuations: A Level Three evacuation notice has been issued to 22 residences in the Rock Creek drainage. Level Two...

Wildfire Update/Lake Chelan Area: Firefighters reopening community protection line; additional resources arrive July 28, 2019 - 10:00am• Acres: 120 • Personnel: 45 • Location: 3 air miles southwest of Stehekin, Washington • Cost: $200,000.00 • Start Date: July 23, 2019 • Cause: Lightning • Completion: No estimate at this timeCurrent Activity: On Saturday a hotshot crew arrived by boat to begin reopening a community protection line built in 2015 on the southwestern edge of the community of Stehekin. While prevailing winds in the area are most likely to push any new fire growth east towards Castle Rock, fire managers are still preparing this additional public safety measure should conditions change. Due to high winds, air resources were unable to safely fly.On Sunday, ground based firefighters will continue to scout and improve the historical protection line. If winds allow, air resources will continue to monitor fire behavior and spread. However due to the extreme...

News Release July 28th, 2019 10:00 AM FINAL RELEASE Cheney, WA – Full containment has been achieved and the final shift under the Type 3 Incident Management Team is scheduled to end this afternoon. Local authorities will continue to patrol all four fires for the next several days. The fire management transition to the local districts for patrol of the area is scheduled to occur at 4 p.m. today. The Northeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team 2 wishes to express our sincere appreciation for the support given to our efforts by the community of Cheney and surrounding areas.

Current Activity: Yesterday saw the Left Hand Fire more than double in size, with growth on the south and east flanks of the fire. Strong winds continued to drive active fire behavior into the night. Firefighters had success in establishing containment lines on the west flank to keep it on the ridge above the Highway 410 corridor. Lighter winds forecast for today should moderate fire behavior. Crews, with aircraft support, will continue to build both direct and indirect fireline today in efforts to hold the fire on the ridge on the western flank and provide opportunities to check its advance on the remaining perimeter. A structure protection group will continue to do assessments and provide protection to threatened structures. Evacuations: A Level Three evacuation notice has been issued to 22 residences in the Rock Creek drainage. Level Two notices remain in effect for the 250 residences along both sides of Sr 410 from the Fire District 14 station to Cliffdell. For additional...

News Release July 27th, 2019 8:00 PM Cheney, WA – Despite challenging weather conditions today, firefighters made excellent progress on all four fires. Their work today brought total containment to 90%. This afternoon some crews began the process of being demobilized off the fire lines and are now available to be reassigned to another incident and or return to their home unit. Fire mangers expect to be able to turn all the Cheney Area Fires back to the local jurisdictions early tomorrow afternoon. All evacuation orders have been lifted. Motorists are reminded to exercise caution when driving in the area of the fires and be mindful of firefighters working in the area. Northeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team is assisting with four separate fires in the Cheney area including the Graham Fire, the Grogan Fire, the Lake Badger Fire, and the Badger fire.

Current Activity: Yesterday saw moderate growth on the south and east flanks of the fire as a passing cold front increased winds and fire behavior. Aircraft were utilized to check the spread of the fire on the west flank to keep it on the ridge above the highway 410 corridor. Today additional crews, aircraft and engines have arrived and will be building both direct and indirect fireline in efforts to hold the fire on the ridge on the western flank and provide opportunities to check its advance on the remaining perimeter. A structure protection group will continue to do assessments and provide protection within the structures threatened along the highway corridor. Evacuations: A Level Three evacuation notice has been issued to sixteen additional residences in the Rock Creek drainage effective at 6:00 a.m. this morning bringing the total to 22. Level Two notices remain in effect for the 250 residences along both sides of Sr 410 from the Fire District 14 station to Cliffdell. For...

July 26, 2019, 8:00 am Acres:400 Personnel:120 Location:32 miles west of Yakima, WA, Naches Ranger District, Okanogan-Wenatchee NF Cost: Start Date: July 23, 2019 Cause: Lightning Completion: No estimate Current Activity: Examining the potential of this blaze yesterday, local fire managers determined that it required the advanced capabilities of a full incident management team, which they then ordered. A Northwest Incident Management Team will arrive in Naches this morning to assume command. The fire was very active on Thursday as hot, dry conditions prevailed over the area. Sustained uphill runs were observed on the east flank accompanied by increased spotting. The west flank approached a band of rocky cliffs viewed as an important barrier to further growth downslope toward SR 410. Aircraft were used extensively to drop water and fire retardant on this difficult-to-safely access portion of the fire. Similar to Wednesday evening, the fire...

Wildfire Update/Lake Chelan Area: Air, ground resources to assess options on Devore Creek FireJuly 27, 2019 - 9:00am• Acres: 100 • Personnel: 30• Location: 3 miles southwest of Stehekin, Washington • Cost: Unknown • Start Date: July 23, 2019 • Cause: Lightning • Completion: 0%Due to the fire’s location in extreme terrain above 8,000 feet in heavy timber, fire managers will focus on limiting fire spread toward the community of Stehekin, Washington. Today ground based firefighters will hike into the Stehekin River Trail area to scout the condition of the community protection line established in 2015 on the southwestern edge of the community. If high winds allow, air resources ordered yesterday evening will provide aerial support, including bucket drops to cool hot spots.Prevailing winds from the west should help limit fire spread toward this community and will likely push the fire east towards Castle Rock. Firefighters observed no new growth overnight and the fire...

NEWS RELEASE Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife July 26, 2019 Contact: Greg Mackey, 509-653-2390; Rachel Blomker, 360-701-3101 Left Hand Fire closes 5,000 acres of Oak Creek Wildlife Area YAKIMA – A wildfire that started July 23 in southwestern Kittitas County has prompted the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to temporary close about 5,000 acres of the Rock Creek Unit of the Oak Creek Wildlife Area near Naches to protect firefighters and help ensure public safety. Wildlife Area Manager Greg Mackey said access to the southwestern portion of the Rock Creek Unit will be restricted until approximately Aug. 26, while firefighters work to contain the fire which is still actively spreading in the area. Updates on the wildfire are available on the Left Hand Fire Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/LeftHandFire and the National Wildfire Coordinating Group’s website at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6456/. ...

Current Activity: Yesterday saw moderate growth on the south and east flanks of the fire as a passing cold front increased winds and fire behavior. Aircraft were utilized to check the spread of the fire on the west flank to keep it on the ridge above the highway 410 corridor. Today additional crews, aircraft and engines have arrived and will be building both direct and indirect fireline in efforts to hold the fire on the ridge on the western flank and provide opportunities to check its advance on the remaining perimeter. A structure protection group will continue to do assessments and provide protection within the structures threatened along the highway corridor. Evacuations: A Level Three evacuation notice has been issued to sixteen additional residences in the Rock Creek drainage effective at 6:00 a.m. this morning bringing the total to 22. Level Two notices remain in effect for the 250 residences along both sides of Sr 410 from the Fire District 14 station to Cliffdell. For...

News Release July 27th, 2019 8:00 AM Cheney, WA – With a change in weather today firefighters are on a heightened state of alert due to red flag conditions. Crews will be working on all four fires today as well as keeping their equipment available to assist if any new fires start in our immediate area. Infrared heat detection equipment will be out on the fire line today to assist in locating any additional areas of concern. All evacuation orders have been lifted. Residents are encouraged to remain vigilant and use extreme caution outdoors. Fire managers continue to pay close attention to weather conditions around the region and will have crews available to assist the local jurisdictions with any new fires in the area. Motorists heading out for the weekend are reminded to exercise caution when driving in the area of the fires and be mindful of firefighters working in the area. Northeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team is assisting with four separate fires in the...

News Release July 26th, 2019 7:30 PM Cheney, WA – Firefighters made excellent progress today in anticipation of the forecasted increase in winds tonight and tomorrow. Mop up of hot spots was a priority today on all four fires. Infrared heat detection equipment arrived this afternoon and was immediately deployed to begin looking for any additional areas around the fires that crews should focus on. This equipment is an important tool to help identify areas that may pose a risk in the future. All evacuation orders have been lifted. Residents are encouraged to remain vigilant and use extreme caution outdoors. Fire managers continue to pay close attention to weather conditions around the region and will have crews available to assist the local jurisdictions with any new fires in the area. Motorists heading out for the weekend are reminded to exercise caution when driving in the area of the fires and be mindful of firefighters working in the area. Northeast Washington Interagency...

Wildfire Update/Stehekin Area: New wildfire near Stehekin, WashingtonJuly 26, 2019 - 7:00pm• Acres: 100 • Personnel: Aerial reconnaissance • Location: 3 miles southwest of Stehekin, Washington • Cost: Unknown• Start Date: July 23, 2019 • Cause: Lightning • Completion: 0%The Devore Creek Fire, a ‘sleeper’ fire from the lightning storms earlier in the week, was first reported at approximately 3:00pm on July 26, 2019 by a trails crew working in the Glacier Peak Wilderness. Aerial reconnaissance arrived over the fire at 4:00pm with a size-up of five acres. Local fire managers immediately ordered rappellers who arrived on scene within two hours of the initial fire report. However, due to the extreme terrain and heavy timber they could not safety engage the fire. By 5:30pm the fire was estimated to be over 75 acres in size with very active fire behavior including spotting and individual tree torching.This naturally ignited fire is burning entirely within the Glacier Peak...

News Release July 26th, 2019 Cheney, WA – There are four separate fires in the Cheney area including the Graham Fire, the Grogan Fire, the Lake Badger Fire, and the Badger fire. Crews have accurately measured the footprints of the four fires and sized them at 171 total combined acres At this point we have attained 20% containment of the fires and we expect that to increase significantly over the next couple days. Last night there was a burnout operation on the Graham fire which went well. There are no other burnout operations planned on any of the fires. All fires in the complex have been 100% lined. That means that hand or dozer lines are in place and crews will begin moving toward the interior of the fires 100 feet from the perimeters checking for heat and ensuring there is no possible chance of fire spread. Infrared devices will then be used to ensure that any heat detected can be addressed. Evacuation Level 1 remains in effect for the six residents south of SR904 near...

News Release July 25th, 2019 Cheney, WA – There are four separate fires in the Cheney area including the Graham Fire, the Grogan Fire, the Lake Badger Fire, and the Badger fire. Crews have accurately measured the footprints of the four fires and sized them at 171 total combined acres At this point we have attained 20% containment of the fires and we expect that to increase significantly over the next couple days. More work is needed to attain acceptable pass back standards of a 100 feet around the perimeters of the fires and 200 feet around all structures. Infrared devices will then be used to ensure that any heat detected can be addressed. The only evacuation order remaining in effect is for the six residents south of SR904 which has been lowered from Level 2 to Level 1. Evacuation orders for all other areas have been lifted. Our focus over the next 24 hour period will be the construction of waterbars, cross gridding, and cold trailing. A waterbar is a feature used to...

Additional firefighting resources arrived on Wednesday. That afternoon the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office issued a Level 1 evacuation notice (“Get ready”) for the area adjacent to the fire. Late Wednesday afternoon fire activity increased with some “spotting”(airborne embers igniting fuels outside the perimeter of the main fire) observed. One load of fire retardant was dropped on the west flank of the fire to slow the upslope spread shortly before sunset. Fire managers estimated the fire perimeter had grown to 160 acres by that time. That growth prompted issuance of a Level 3 (“Go”) notice for six homes and other structures nearest the fire and a Level 2 (“Set”) for over 250 residences along SR 410 effective this morning. Maps of the affected areas are available on the Yakima County Office of Emergency Management Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/YakimaCountyOEM). This morning, fire managers are simultaneously continuing operations and evaluating the...

News Release July 25th, 2019 Cheney, WA - The Cheney Complex Fire is comprised of four separate fires in the Cheney area of Spokane County. The four fires include the 104 acre Graham Fire, the 10 acre Grogan Fire, the 21 acre Lake Badger Fire, and the 16 acre Badger fire. Yesterday, wind and topography drove the wildland fire through light flashy fuels. Dozer and hand-lines were constructed around the fires and burnout operations were conducted last night to burn any additional unburned fuels between the constructed line and the fire. Hot spots remain throughout the various fire footprints. A Level 2 evacuation order remains in effect for 6 residents and a Level 1 evacuation order remains in effect for an additional 50 residents. Motorists are advised of increased fire apparatus traffic and smoke in the area of the Cheney Complex. Last night saw no significant growth of the fires and no reported new starts. Today, crews will be working to firm up the estimated footprint of the...

News Release July 24th, 2019 Cheney, WA - The Cheney Complex Fire is comprised of four separate fires in the Cheney area of Spokane County. The four fires include the 104 acre Graham Fire, the 10 acre Grogan Fire, the 21 acre Lake Badger Fire, and the 16 acre Badger fire. The initial attack on the multiple fires was led by firefighters from Spokane County Fire District 3 and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. Their efforts were joined shortly after initial reporting by firefighters from multiple agencies in Spokane County. Their speedy and gallant efforts worked to avoid any damage to approximately 30 structures that were threatened by the encroaching fire. Evacuation orders have been lowered to Level 1 for those areas that were under a Level 2 evacuation order, and the area between S.R. 904 and the railroad has been downgraded from Level 3 to Level 2. S.R. 904, which was closed earlier today, reopened at about 9:00 p.m.. Citizens are advised that they may see...