Major wildfires burning in Washington state as of 10 a.m., Sept 12, 2012. CLICK map for larger image.
Here’s an update on some of the largest and most hazardous fires:
Wenatchee Fire Complex: This complex north and west of the City of Wenatchee consists of dozens of wildfires, the largest and most dangerous of them include the:
- Canyons Fire, which has burned about 2,000 acres of shrub and grass directly west of Wenatchee.
- Poison Canyon Fire, which has burned about 1,000 acres of shrub and pine trees south of Cashmere.
- Byrd Canyon Fire, which has burned about 10,000 acres of grass and shrub north of Entiat.
- First Creek Fire, which has burned about 60 acres on remote, steep ground south of Lake Chelan.
- Pyramid Fire, which as burned about 100 acres of dying and diseased timber in the Entiat drainage north of Entiat (not currently staffed).
Approximately 620 firefighters from state, local and federal agencies, plus aircraft, are working on these fires — all started by lightning Saturday night. See the Wenatchee Complex Fire web page on www.inciweb.org for locations, road closures and evacuation information. The Wenatchee Complex Fire public information number is: 509-667-6636.
Barker Fire Complex: Burning in dry grass and shrub in Douglas and Grant counties about 14 miles northwest of Grand Coulee, this complex includes the Barker Canyon Fire (17,365 acres), and the Leahy Fire (which grew to 60,800 acres yesterday). The 186 firefighters on this complex are working to establish control lines. Fires in the complex have a high potential to spread further. Containment was estimated at 20 percent this morning. See the Barker Fire Complex web page on www.inciweb.org for more information.
Yakima Fire Complex: Approximately 95 small lightning-caused fires are burning in brush, grass, sage and timber on county, state and federal lands in the Table Mountain Recreation Area of Yakima and Kittitas counties. Portions of the Table Mountain Area and several roads are closed. Campfires are prohibited on all county, state and federal lands in the area. About 50 structures are threatened. The 377 personnel working this fire include crews from DNR, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and several Kittitas County Fire Districts. Containment was estimated at 10 percent this morning. See the Yakima Fire Complex web page on www.inciweb.org for more information.
Manilla Creek Fire Complex: Consisting of several fires burning on the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, this lightning-caused complex of wildfires has burned about 1,662 acres and was 70 percent contained as of this morning. The 256 personnel from DNR and other agencies assigned to this fire are working today to maintain fire lines and working closely with the tribal archeologist as they do fire mop-up tasks. Smoke from these and other fires in the region have produced air quality advisories for residents living on and near the reservation.
Cascade Creek Fire: This 1,937-acre fire, started by lightning Saturday night, is burning in timber on the south slope of Mount Adams, mostly in the Mount Adams Wilderness Area. As of this morning, containment was zero percent but fire growth was minimal. The 360 personnel are focused today on keeping the fire from moving east towards the Yakama Nation Reservation, state, and private lands. (Crews finished wrapping the historic Gotchen Guard Station southeast of the fire with protective foil yesterday.) More information on the Cascade Creek Fire web page on www.inciweb.org
Highway 141 Fire: Full containment of this 1,644-acre fire east of Highway 141, about 2 miles north of White Salmon, is anticipated later today. Level 2 (be ready to leave) or Level 3 (leave now) evacuations are cancelled. The cause of the fire, which burned on private and state lands, is under investigation.
More information
- Visit InciWeb (updates about major wildfires)
- Get updates about DNR’s fire program: twitter.com/waDNR_fire
- See latest weather for eastern Washington from the National Weather Service office in Spokane
Tags: DNR, Washington, Wildfire
