Light winds aid wildfire battle near Chelan

CHELAN — Fire officials are hoping calmer winds Sunday will aid fire crews using air tankers, helicopters and bulldozers to attack several large fires burning in the Chelan area that have destroyed more than 50 structures.

Fire incident spokesman Wayne Patterson said Sunday that more fire crews, including from the Washington National Guard, are being mobilized to fight six fires burning in the area.

Together, the Reach, Wolverine and other blazes in the area have scorched more than 155 square miles, forced about 1,500 residents to flee their homes and caused power outages.

“It has helped tremendously,” Patterson said. “If we had the same winds from Saturday, we would have double the acreage that we have now.”

On Saturday, winds were blowing at 15 to 20 mph, he said. Sunday morning, they were down to 5 to 10 mph.

“Now we are at the point of fighting fires on a lot of different fronts,” Patterson added. “We have strategies in place and crews in place to start moving from structure protection to trying to attack the fires.”

Patterson said air tankers have established lines to keep the flames from reaching downtown Chelan, a popular central Washington resort town. Helicopters have been dipping into Lake Chelan to pull up water to battle blazes north of the lake.

On Saturday, 150 more personnel arrived to fight the fire, putting the total personnel count at 727, said Patterson, information officer for Pacific Northwest Incident Management 2, a Type 1 team that is currently based in Chelan Falls.

That team is managing six fires: Wolverine, Reach, First Creek, Black Canyon, Squaw Creek and Blankenship.

Good news also is coming from Holden Village, where fire crews have set backburns to slow the progress of the Wolverine Fire around the village. “We are optimistic that by Monday, we may start thinking mop-up there,” he said.

Lighter winds Sunday helped the more than 700 people battling the complex of fires.

“We’re able to start taking the battle to the fire rather than playing defense,” Patterson said.

The Chelan Public Utility District said more than 9,000 customers were without power Saturday after the fire destroyed more than 30 poles supporting transmission lines. Crews were working to replace them in areas where it was safe to do so, the utility said.

The hospital in Chelan evacuated some of its patients to a hospital in Wenatchee, 50 miles south, but the emergency room remained open, Chelan County Emergency Management officials said. Several nursing homes and assisted-living centers also chose to evacuate, officials said.

As crews hoped to make progress Sunday, people dealt with the scope of the damage.

Terri Raffetto was at a community center that had been converted into a shelter in Entiat, about 20 miles south of Chelan.

She said she fled her trailer Sunday with her two dogs as flames approached.

“Completely destroyed,” Raffetto said.

Fire crews across the Northwest were hoping to secure lines around other wildfires burning in Idaho and Oregon.

Several wildfires burning in northwest Idaho have scorched more than 80 square miles as of Sunday morning.

“We’re at the point in the summer … where everything is going,” said Mike Cole, spokesman for the team managing the Lawyer fire and four other blazes. “This is the time of year that it happens.”

The fire burning near Kamiah, Idaho, has destroyed at least 50 homes and 75 outbuildings as the fire rips through private and public lands. Sheriff’s deputies are still working to identify all the structures that have burned.

“There’s a potential for more loss of property, without a doubt,” Cole said.

“We have so much fire in the landscape and we’ve had so much lightning move through in the last few days. We’re picking up spot fires from lightning. Every day we’re trying to find out where the fire’s edge is,” he added.

Ranchers, farmers and loggers have been using their own heavy equipment to help establish fire lines, Cole said.

State officials cancelled visits at the North Idaho Correction Institution in Cottonwood Sunday. The facility isn’t threatened by wildfire but state officials said they wanted to allow staff to support families and neighbors in the Kamiah area.

Also in Idaho, the Soda Creek fire burning about 8 miles northeast of Jordan Valley, Oregon, has already torched more than 440 square miles.

Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter issued a disaster declaration for Owyhee County after touring the devastation Saturday. The declaration means farmers and others affected by the fire can get economic assistance.

In Oregon, the Canyon Creek Complex burning south of John Day has destroyed at least 26 homes, though officials say the number may go up as crews make assessments. The fire was estimated at more than 53 square miles on Sunday morning.

Dean Elliot and his wife evacuated Friday just minutes before that ripped down a ridge and along the creek where they lived.

As he surveyed the smoldering remains of his home of 53 years, he told Oregon Public Broadcasting: “You could have put all the water you had on this. And it would have never slowed it down.”

The report includes information from The Wenatchee World.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Bodies of two men recovered after falling into Eagle Falls near Index

Two men fell into the falls and did not resurface Saturday, authorities said. After a recovery effort, two bodies were found.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.