Published Saturday, August 20, 2022
The White River and Irving Peak Fires were started by lightning on August 11, 2022 and are burning on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, approximately 15 miles northwest of Plain, Washington State.
Collectively, the fires have burned 1,486 acres of mixed conifer litter and understory.
WHITE RIVER FIRE
Okanogan-Wenatchee NF, USFS. IMT 2 (NW Team 7). IMT is also managing the Irving Peak Fire. Twenty-three miles northwest of Leavenworth, WA. Timber.
Active fire behavior with flanking, backing and isolated torching.
Numerous structures are threatened. Evacuations, area, road, and trail closures are in effect.
The fire has destroyed 871 acres. The fire still remains at a 1% containment status.
CTD: $2.8M
IRVING PEAK FIRE
Okanogan-Wenatchee NF, USFS. Twenty-six miles northwest of Leavenworth, WA. Timber. Active fire behavior with flanking, backing, and isolated torching. Structures threatened. Evacuations, area, road, and trail closures are in effect.
There have been 615 acres burned and the fire remains at a 1% containment status.
Currently, assigned are 38 total personnel with two helicopters.
CTD: $537,000.
Command
The fire is under the management of IC Nate LeFevre, Northwest Team 7, a Type 2 Incident Management Team which assumed command of the White River, and Irving Peak Fires on August 16, 2022, at 0600 hours PT.
Incident Cooperators
Incident Cooperators include the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, Chelan County Office of Emergency Management, Chelan County, and Lake Wenatchee Fire & Rescue.
Evacuations are in effect.
Chelan County Sheriff’s office has issued a Level 3 evacuation (Go Now) for Sears Creek Road, White River Road is at a Level 2 (Be Prepared), and Little Wenatchee Road is at a Level 1 (Stay Alert). Emergency personnel is in the process of advising residents in the area. Residents of five homes were evacuated from the Sears Creek Area.
For an interactive evacuation map of Chelan County, please visit https://tinyurl.com/whiteriverevacuationmap
To sign up for the Chelan County emergency alert system, please visit https://public.alertsense.com/signup/?regionid=1184.
Fire Operations
Crews continue to make good progress on prepping roads and chipping along White River and Road Forest Road 6404. They anticipate completing that work today. Sawyers are progressing up Forest Road 6500 felling dangerous snags while chipping crews follow behind them. Firefighters completed the installation of sprinklers around buildings and will be testing those sprinkler systems today. A night crew is monitoring the fire and scouting possible fire line locations near Forest Road 6404.
Pacific Crest Trail
Pacific Crest Trail: Smoke is visible from the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). While there is currently no impact to the PCT, hikers should be aware that Little Wenatchee Ford and White River Trailheads are closed and cannot be used to access the PCT.
Water Source Access, Safety Message to Water Rec Users
Safety Message: Firefighter crews and equipment are busy in and around the fire area. Helicopters and water-scooping aircraft are periodically active on Lake Wenatchee. Be prepared to clear areas of the lake and stay close to shore when scooper aircraft are operating. Please avoid all areas where people and equipment are working. Be cautious and continue to do all you can to prevent wildfires.
(c) 2022 NW Fire Blog
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