Wenatchee Complex Morning Update, September 26, 2012
Incident: Wenatchee Complex Wildfire
Released: 9/26/2012
The Type 1 Southwest Area Incident Management Team took command of the Wenatchee Complex at 6 a.m. this morning.
Squilchuck and Mission Ridge Roads from the Wenatchee Heights Road south, including Halverson and Hampton Roads to the Mission Ridge Ski Area, were lowered to Level 1 evacuation at 6:00 p.m. yesterday.
Information about evacuations is available at: www.inciweb.org/incident/announcements/3258/, and is broadcast on local radio stations.
Just before dusk Monday, helicopters dropped several loads of water on the newly reported Signal Peak Fire, southeast of the Klone Fire. Early yesterday, helicopters inserted rappellers, who constructed a hand line around the fire perimeter, holding it to a tenth of an acre.
Firefighters again had success with suppression, mop up and rehabilitation efforts on fires in the complex. Winds provided relief from smoky conditions and allowed fire managers for the first time to observe fire activity from the air. An inversion is expected to return today and last through Friday.
Rehabilitation on the Byrd Canyon and Canyon Fires will continue. Mop-up operations are nearing completion on the Poison and First Creek Fires and will then transition to rehabilitation.
Because of burnout operations, pilot cars will begin escorting traffic on U.S. Highway 97 near Blewett Pass Summit at noon today. Expect 30-minute delays.
The Peavine Canyon Fire, now the top priority in the complex, has merged with the Table Mountain Fire. Firefighters used helicopters to continue burnout operations on the west flank near U.S. Highway 97. The fire has burned18,880 acres.
The Klone Fire is 1,335 acres and 0 percent contained. Crews will continue to chip brush and slash removed from Shady Pass and Tommy Creek Roads. Aerial resources were used to check the fire spread on the south and will be used again today.
The Maverick Fire is 22 acres and 100 percent contained. It will continue to be monitored from the air.
The Canyon Fire, directly west of Wenatchee, is 7,557 acres and 95 percent contained.
The Byrd Fire, located north of Entiat, is 14,160 acres and 90 percent contained. Both the Canyon and Byrd Fires continue to be patrolled while crews work on rehabilitation.
The Poison Canyon Fire, located south of Cashmere, is 5,909 acres and 70 percent contained. Crews continue to mop up fire lines and hot spots, with rehab to begin when mop up is completed.
The First Creek Fire is 1,360 acres and 90 percent contained. It will continue to be patrolled and rehabilitation work will begin soon.
The Pyramid Fire, north of Entiat, is 1,068 acres and 90 percent contained. It continues to move slowly down slope and is under aerial monitoring.
The Basalt Fire, 10 miles north of Lake Wenatchee in the Chiwawa drainage, is 793 acres and 0 percent contained. It continues to be monitored from the air.
The Sears Creek Fire, in the White River drainage above Lake Wenatchee, is 368 acres and 40 percent contained. Crews continue to work on constructing dozer line on the north flank and hand line on the south flank.
The Cashmere Mountain Fire, at 1,451 acres and 0 percent contained, is burning within the perimeters of the 1994 Rat and Hatchery Fires. Crews continue to hold the fire at the 8 Mile Road (7601), with support from aerial resources. It does not pose a danger to structures.
The fire area remains dry, with the potential for rapid fire growth and new starts. The eastern Washington burn ban prohibiting all outdoor burning, including campfires, bonfires, residential yard burning, agricultural burning and fireworks, has been extended to midnight September 30.
To aid firefighters and ensure your safety, please slow down and turn on headlights when traveling through fire areas, as smoky conditions reduce visibility.
