Restricted Access to Chelan County Roads September 22, 2012
Incident: Wenatchee Complex Wildfire
Released: 9/22/2012
- ROAD CLOSURES
Effective 12:00pm today (September 22, 2012), the Chelan County Sheriff is closing the Stemilt Loop Road from Upper Wheeler Road to just north of and including Jump-Off Ridge Road and Colockum Road at Tarpiscan Road to all but local traffic only. The Washington State Department of Natural Resources closed state lands accessed by these roads earlier in the week due to the movement of the Table Mountain Fire toward it. Continued concern about the fire's eastward movement prompted the Chelan County Sheriff's Office to close these roads today. Chelan County and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officers will sweep the area to inform recreationists who are within the area and may not yet be aware of the closures.
Fire managers are diligently attempting to prevent the fires from reaching further east, but changing weather conditions, including a Red Flag warning for dry lightning storms, have them concerned. If the fire were to spread rapidly, it would be very difficult to notify and evacuate people in this remote area. Consequently, the road closure was deemed to be the most prudent action to protect public safety.
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Up-to-date information on evacuations can be heard on local media in Wenatchee or by checking www.inciweb.org/incident/3258.
- PUBLIC INFORMATION NUMBERS:
Inquiries regarding fire information and evacuation levels should be directed to the Wenatchee Complex Fire Information Section at 509-662-4438 or 509-662-4694. The phones are staffed daily from 6:00 am until 10:00 pm.
For information on fire activity in Okanogan, Kittitas and Yakima Counties , please contact the Joint Information Center (JIC) at 509-664-9353. Wenatchee Complex Fire Information 509-662-4438, 509-662-4694.
