WINTHROP – Command of four wildfires burning in north-central Washington has been transferred from a national team to a regional group of firefighters, now that the complexity of the fires has eased.
The Flick Creek fire near the remote community of Stehekin and the Tinpan fire, which is burning in the Glacier Peak Wilderness, have become more subdued, said Paul Hart, U.S. Forest Service spokesman in Wenatchee.
Firefighting efforts now are focused on the larger Tripod and Spur Peak fires, which together have burned more than 154 square miles, or 99,060 acres between Winthrop and Conconully.
Firefighters remain concerned that the fire could grow to the north or northeast, where about eight miles of the fire remains unlined, said Ron DeHart, a Forest Service fire spokesman in Conconully.
“We’re not out of the woods on this one yet,” he said. “We have what we call a dirty fire. It didn’t burn clean. It hop-scotched around leaving lots of unburned areas.”
Fire crews were bracing for a high pressure system Friday that could bring higher temperatures, low humidity and increasing fire activity, Forest Service spokesman Mick Mueller said.
The fire was 25 percent contained Thursday. More than 3,000 firefighters were assigned to the blaze, although the national command team transferred management of the north-central Washington blazes to a regional squad on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, a Michigan woman was cited for reckless burning after fire investigators and police concluded her alleged illegal campfire sparked the Flick Creek fire near Stehekin. The fire has blackened 4,401 acres on the east shore of Lake Chelan. The fire was 50 percent contained Thursday.
Mary Irene HayHoe, 46, from Mason, Mich., had been homeless and living in the Stehekin area the past eight months, Chelan County Sheriff Mike Harum said.
HayHoe came forward to National Park Service authorities in Stehekin within hours of the start of the forest fire on July 26, Harum said. HayHoe told authorities that she thought she had extinguished her campfire. Investigators concluded that the woman made a good effort to do so, and the fire was accidental.
However, campfires are not allowed in so-called “cross-country zones” away from trails. HayHoe also did not have a camping permit, police said.
The reckless burning charge is a gross misdemeanor, punishable by a $5,000 fine and one year in jail. She also could be forced to pay restitution.
Firefighting costs have been estimated at $800,000 so far, Harum said.
“She’s very sorry for what happened,” Harum said. “Whether she can pay or not, she’s going to be required to pay something.”
All visitor services in Stehekin remain open, but some trails and campgrounds in the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area and the Wenatchee National Forest remain closed.
The 4,581-acre Tinpan fire along the Entiat River trail in the Glacier Peak Wilderness was being managed as a wildland use fire, meaning it will be allowed to burn naturally unless it threatens to go beyond preset boundaries.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
