Local News

Fire Update from Tonasket Ranger District

Jul 23, 2015

Most of the fires located since Sunday night’s lightning storm are controlled or in patrol status. Wildhorse Fire in the Summit Lake area of Mt. Hull has been mapped at 162 acres and the Spur Fire, near Bonaparte Lake, is estimated to be less than four acres.

Firefighters put in a lot of saw work to build fireline through the downed trees surrounding the Spur Fire. They have contained the fire and will be working over the next few days to strengthen containment lines. Helicopters working out of the Tonasket Airport continue to support the 80 firefighters assigned to the fire. To reduce drive time and increase efficiency, crews working on the Spur Fire are camping near the fire area, a practice referred to as “spiking out”.

Wildhorse Fire is 25% contained, there is a line around it and firefighters are working toward containment by mopping up hot spots. The spread of the fire has mostly halted but there is fire right down to the line, and there have been a few spot fires on the north end, according to Nathan Goodrich, Incident Commander.

Crews on the Wildhorse fire are using 55 gallon blivets, which are basically bags of water that are flown in by helicopter, to aid in the mop-up effort. Fuels and soil are extremely dry and water is necessary for effective mop-up. There are 201 people assigned to the Wildhorse Fire, some of whom are supporting local initial attack efforts.

In the midst of all this firefighting, restoration work continues on the Tonasket Ranger District. Kaye Chester, Timber Stand Improvement Specialist, reported this morning that 220 acres of ladder fuel reduction was completed in the last eight days. The work includes thinning and handpiling in the Bannon Mountain area.

Maps, photos, and updates associated with the Newby Lake, Spur and Wildhorse fires are available on Facebook and Twitter at www.facebook.com/OkaWenNF or @OkaWenNF .