August 05, 2019 – 9:00 a.m.

Acres: 189

Location: 3 air miles southwest of Stehekin, WA

Completion: Season-ending weather event

Cause: Lightning

Estimated Cost: $637,000

Report Date: July 26, 2019 (ignited by the lightning storms that came through on July 23 and 24)

Personnel: 83, including 2 hand crews, 3 helicopters, 33 overhead personnel

Current Activity: The weather is forecasted to be warmer and drier over the next two days. While that may result in some uptick in fire activity, especially late in the day, no significant fire growth is expected in the next few days. The fire continues to slowly back and flank with isolated short duration single tree torching. Haze in the area yesterday was from a fire near Spokane and that may be visible again today.

Firefighters are using a range of tactics to protect communities, assets, and infrastructure in Stehekin and other public and private property, and to minimize the fire’s duration, in order to reduce social and economic impacts to local communities. Firefighters will continue to remove vegetation cleared during the prep work on the community protection line over the next several days.

Firefighters from a number of federal and state agencies are cooperating on the Devore Creek Fire, including the US Forest Service, National Park Service and Washington Department of Natural Resources. Fire personnel are from states around the country including Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Nebraska, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming. Chelan Fire and Rescue District 7 is graciously providing office space for the incident management team. Base camp for fire personnel is located at Lake Chelan National Recreation Area in Stehekin.

Evacuations: None

Closures: On the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, Devore Creek Trail #1244, Company Creek Trail #1243, and Ten Mile Creek Trail #1241 are currently closed for public safety. Company Creek Trail is closed at the trailhead in Lake Chelan National Recreation Area. The Stehekin River Trail in Lake Chelan National Recreation Area is closed temporarily between Weaver Point and the Stehekin airstrip.

Smoke Information: Air quality in the area remains ‘Good’ in the Stehekin and Chelan area. For today’s smoke outlook and more information on smoke and your health visit wasmoke.blogspot.com or en Espanol tinyurl.com/yanjrv7m.

Other: All Chelan and Stehekin area businesses are open, please consider supporting local tourism.

The attached map shows the trails that are currently closed, both on the Okanogan Wenatchee National Forest and in Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, due to the Devore Creek Fire.

On the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, Devore Creek Trail #1244, Company Creek Trail #1243, and Ten Mile Creek Trail #1241 are currently closed for public safety. Company Creek Trail is closed at the trailhead in Lake Chelan National Recreation Area. The Stehekin River Trail in Lake Chelan National Recreation Area is closed temporarily between Weaver Point and the Stehekin airstrip.

Smoke Outlook for 8/04 - 8/05Central Washington - Devore Creek Fire

Issued at: 2019-08-04 07:24 PDT

Fire The current size of the Devore Creek Fire is 189 acres, primarily burning timber litter and dead-and-down. This is an increase of about 9 acres, with most of the growth occurring on the west perimeter. Similar fire behavior is expected today.

Smoke No immediate smoke impacts are expected at this time; however, there may be some minimal haze impacts from the Williams Flats fire west of Spokane.

See attached file below for more information.

August 04, 2019 – 8:00 a.m.

Acres: 189

Location: 3 air miles southwest of Stehekin, WA

Completion: Season-ending weather event

Cause: Lightning

Estimated Cost: $569,000.00

Report Date: July 26, 2019 (ignited by lightning storms that came through on July 23 and 24)

Personnel: 83, including 2 hand crews, 3 helicopters, and 33 overhead personnel

Current Activity: Aerial reconnaissance reported areas of actively burning fire within the perimeter of the Devore Creek Fire, and nine acres of spread via backing and flanking. Higher temperatures are predicted in the coming days, but lighter winds are also predicted. The fire continues to burn entirely within the Glacier Peak Wilderness Area.

Vegetation cleared during the prep work on the community protection line is being removed over the course of next several days. Firefighters are using a range of tactics to protect communities, assets, infrastructure in Stehekin and other public and private property, and to minimize the fire’s duration, in order to reduce social and economic impacts to local communities.

Evacuations: None

Closures: The Stehekin River Trail is closed temporarily between Weaver Point and the Stehekin airstrip. The Devore Creek Trail #1244, Company Creek Trail #1243, and Ten Mile Creek Trail #1241 are currently closed for public safety.

Smoke Information: Air quality in the area remains ‘Good’ in the Stehekin and Chelan area. For a daily smoke outlook, and information on smoke and your health, visit wasmoke.blogspot.com or en Espanol tinyurl.com/yanjrv7m.

Other: All Chelan and Stehekin area businesses are open. Please consider supporting local tourism.

Devore Creek Fire Information: 602-726-5482

Inciweb: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6463 (updates, maps, photos, videos, closure information)

Facebook: @DevoreCreekFire

Text Message: Text “follow okawennf” to 40404 (iPhone only)

Twitter: @OkaWenNF

#DevoreCreekFire #WaWildfire #FireForest

August 03, 2019 – 8:00 a.m.

Acres: 180

Location: 3 air miles southwest of Stehekin, WA

Completion: Season-ending weather event

Cause: Lightning

Estimated Cost: $402,000.00

Report Date: July 26, 2019 (ignited by lightning storms that came through on July 23 and 24)

Personnel: 85, including 2 hand crews, 3 helicopters, 35 overhead personnel

Current Activity: High winds were accompanied by cooler temperatures and higher humidity in the area of the Devore Creek Fire yesterday. Aerial reconnaissance reported little to no spread overall. However, the fire continues to burn actively, especially in areas with heavy fuels. With lower humidity predicted in the coming days, there is a possibility of some higher intensity fire behavior. The fire continues to burn entirely within the Glacier Peak Wilderness Area.

Yesterday, crews completed cutting and falling standing dead trees along the community protection line near Stehekin. “Fire behavior is dynamic and subject to change depending on weather, fuels, and topography,” says Jon Teutrine, operations section chief with the Phoenix National Incident Management Organization. “In the event that the fire changes course and begins to move in the direction of Stehekin, having these lines prepped and ready will help firefighters protect life and property.”

Evacuations: None

Closures: The Stehekin River Trail is closed temporarily between Weaver Point and the Stehekin airstrip as crews utilize heavy equipment to remove felled dead trees. The Devore Creek Trail #1244, Company Creek Trail #1243, and Ten Mile Creek Trail #1241 are currently closed for public safety.

Smoke Information: Air quality in the area remains ‘Good’ in the Stehekin and Chelan area. For more information on smoke and your health, visit wasmoke.blogspot.com or en Espanol tinyurl.com/yanjrv7m.

Other: All Chelan and Stehekin area businesses are open. Please consider supporting local tourism.

Devore Creek Fire Information: 602-726-5482

Inciweb: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6463

Facebook: @DevoreCreekFire

Text Message: Text “follow okawennf” to 40404 (iphone only)

Twitter: @OkaWenNF

#DevoreCreekFire #WaWildfire #FireForest

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Fire
The current size of the Devore Creek wildfire is 180 acres, primarily burning timber litter and dead-and-down. A slight increase in fire activity is expected today, as fuels begin to dry out. Fire behavior will slow at nighttime.

Smoke
There are no immediate impacts from smoke at this time.

Monitors
A smoke monitor will be put in Stehekin as a precaution. The order has been placed and should be set up on Tuesday.

See related file for more information.

August 02, 2019 – 8:00 a.m.

Acres: 180

Location: 3 air miles southwest of Stehekin, WA

Completion: Season-ending weather event

Cause: Lightning

Estimated Cost: $319,500

Report Date: July 26, 2019 (ignited by the lightning storms that came through on July 23 and 24)

Personnel: 79, including 2 handcrews, 2 helicopters, 29 overhead personnel

Current Activity: Reconnaissance and infrared flights over the Devore Fire Creek Fire Thursday show it continues to grow slowly, still at high elevations in the Glacier Peak Wilderness Area. Data from an infrared flight over the fire late last night shows the fire has grown to 180 acres. Today two, twenty-person handcrews will continue to improve a community protection fire line near Stehekin. On Thursday, radio equipment was installed to establish reliable communication between fire crews and support personnel in Chelan. The incident management team is developing and implementing tactics to protect Stehekin, as well as other public and private property. “Our intent is to commit responders when and where they can be successful, in order to protect the public, and property, while minimizing the risks we ask our firefighters to take,” says Incident Commander Bob Houseman. Firefighters are also working to minimize the fire’s duration in order to reduce the social and economic impacts to local communities.

Evacuations: None

Closures: The Stehekin River Trail is closed temporarily between Weaver Point and the Stehekin airstrip, as crews cut and fall standing dead trees. The Devore Creek Trail #1244, Company Creek Trail #1243, and Ten Mile Creek Trail #1241 are currently closed for public safety.https://tinyurl.com/yb5zs737

Smoke Information: Air quality in the area remains ‘Good’ in the Stehekin and Chelan area. For more information on smoke and your health visit wasmoke.blogspot.com or en Espanol tinyurl.com/yanjrv7m.

Other: All Chelan and Stehekin area businesses are open, please consider supporting local tourism.

Devore Creek Fire Information: 602-726-5482

Inciweb: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6463

Facebook: @DevoreCreekFire

Text Message: follow okawennf to 40404 (iphone)

Twitter: @OkaWenNF

#DevoreCreekFire #WaWildfire #FireForest

Video from a reconnaissance flight over the Devore Creek Fire Thursday is on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/DevoreCreekFire/videos/2044008469036705/

Stehekin River Trail Closed Temporarily For Public Safety

Wildfire Update/Stehekin Area: New wildfire near Stehekin, Washington

July 26, 2019 - 7:00pm

• Acres: 100
• Personnel: Aerial reconnaissance
• Location: 3 miles southwest of Stehekin, Washington
• Cost: Unknown
• Start Date: July 23, 2019
• Cause: Lightning
• Completion: 0%

The Devore Creek Fire, a ‘sleeper’ fire from the lightning storms earlier in the week, was first reported at approximately 3:00pm on July 26, 2019 by a trails crew working in the Glacier Peak Wilderness. Aerial reconnaissance arrived over the fire at 4:00pm with a size-up of five acres. Local fire managers immediately ordered rappellers who arrived on scene within two hours of the initial fire report. However, due to the extreme terrain and heavy timber they could not safety engage the fire. By 5:30pm the fire was estimated to be over 75 acres in size with very active fire behavior including spotting and individual tree torching.This naturally ignited fire is burning entirely within the Glacier Peak Wilderness at an estimated elevation of 8,000 ft. At times, smoke from the fire was highly visible from the communities of Chelan and Winthrop.

Evacuations: None.

Closures: The Devore Creek Trail #1244 is currently closed for public safety.

Smoke: Smoke may be highly visible from Chelan and Winthrop. Air quality is currently ‘good’ for area smoke monitors. For more information on smoke and your health, please visit: wasmoke.blogspot.com

Fire Information:
Inciweb: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6463
Text Message: follow_okawennf to 40404 (iphone)
Facebook: facebook.com/OkaWenNF
Twitter: twitter.com/OkaWenNF

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