Colville Complex Update – 8-25-15

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Fire Update – Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Wolverine: The north side of the fire was active along Castle Creek, near Stehekin, yesterday and helicopter water drops were used to hold the fire in check. The southern flank of the fire continued to grow into the Entiat drainage, with extreme fire behavior in Garland and Snow Brushy Creeks. Work continues on constructing an indirect line along Tommy Creek as well as implementing structure protection in the Silver Falls area. As a precautionary measure, the Wenatchee River Ranger District has closed access to the Chiwawa Valley, west of the Entiat River. The fire is approximately five miles east of the Chiwawa Valley. Crews will continue to mop up hot spots and construct contingency lines.

First Creek: The north end of the fire continued to be active Monday afternoon, with air support providing water drops to keep the fire in check along Slide Ridge. The fire continues to grow to the north with short uphill runs exhibiting extreme fire behavior. Crews continue to provide structure protection along South Lakeshore Road and along First Creek Road. Today crews will continue to secure hot spots on the ridgetop, construct direct containment lines where possible, and mop up and patrol to strengthen containment lines.

Chelan Complex: Yesterday crews conducted burnout operations along the northwest flank of the fire removing unburned fuels and strengthening containment lines. Work also continued on dozer line along the Forest Service 600 Road near South Fork Gold Creek. The fire continues to grow to the northwest towards Fisher Creek and South Fork. Due to low humidity last night, extreme fire behavior resulted in a 50 acre spot fire along the northwest portion of the fire. Dozers secured the spot fire and crews continue to mop up hot spots. Portions of the Chelan Complex within three miles of Chelan and all areas east of the Columbia River are completely contained. Today crews will mop up and patrol along the western perimeter of the fire and continue to tie in dozer line to the north. Mop up and patrol will continue along the southwest perimeter.

Weather: Red Flag conditions will continue through 9:00 pm tonight. Temperatures in the valley will be in the 80s and 70s along the ridges. Relative humidity will drop into the low teens this afternoon. Winds are expected to be lighter today from the northwest at 2-5 mph, with gusts up to 15 mph in aligned drainages. Fire behavior is expected to increase in drainages that are aligned with the northwest to southeast winds.

Evacuation/Aid Information: Level 3 evacuations are in place for approximately 1,000 residents in the greater Chelan area. Level 3 evacuations remain for Holden Village, Lucerne, Domke Lake, Riddle, and Lightning Creek. Evacuation information is available from Chelan County Emergency Management. Red Cross shelters are established at MOE Elementary, 407 East Woodin Ave, Chelan; Sterling Middle School, 600 North James Street, East Wenatchee; and Brewster High School, 503 S 7th St, Brewster.
Basic Information
Current as of 8/25/2015, 10:11:31 AM
Incident Type Wildfire
Date of Origin Friday August 14th, 2015 approx. 05:00 AM
Incident Commander Clay Templin, Southwest Area Incident Management Team 1
Current Situation
Total Personnel 644
Size 88,104 Acres
Percent of Perimeter Contained 40%

Fuels Involved
Timber (Grass and Understory)
Closed Timber Litter
Short Grass (1 foot)
Significant Events

Active
Single Tree Torching
Uphill Runs
Group Torching

Outlook
Planned Actions
Provide point protection in and around structures NW and NE flanks of the fire. Cut direct and indirect line and burn out as necessary. Mop up and secure all established fire lines.

Projected Incident Activity
12 hours: Fire behavior will be active throughout the evening hours as humidities will remain low. Fire movement will be to the N with surface fire spread and single tree and group tree torching.

24 hours: Forecasted winds are favorable to see moderate fire behavior. Fuel and slope driven fire behavior will occur and be the primary cause of fire spread. It is still expected to see uphill fire runs, group tree torching and extreme fire behavior influence by fuels, instability and slope.

48 hours: Continued instability will create conditions for large fire growth in all areas of unchecked fire.

72 hours: Fire will continue to move N, E, and SE exhibiting active to extreme fire behavior. Fire will continue to threaten Alta Lake.

Anticipated after 72 hours: Fire will continue to move N and NW with active and possibly extreme fire behavior.

Remarks
This complex now includes the Reach fire, Black Canyon fire, McFarland Creek fire, Cagle fire and Antoine fire

Current Weather / Weather Concerns
Extreme fire weather conditions will persist through 9 pm Tuesday evening as warm, dry, and unstable conditions continue. Even once Red Flag conditions expire mid-evening, humidities and stability will be slow to moderate through the remainder of the week. By late this week into the weekend, conditions will likely alternate between periods of high-based showers or thunderstorms and breezy winds blowing through channeled terrain out of the Cascades.”

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