Stehekin prepares for Flick Creek fire

CHELAN, Wash. – Cooperative winds and a light rain helped slow a seven-square-mile fire near Lake Chelan on Sunday, as a specialized crew prepared to use explosives to create a barrier protecting the resort town of Stehekin.

“The winds are blowing, but they’re blowing in the right direction,” said fire information officer Margi Peterson. Sixty-two people were working the fire Sunday, she said.

The explosives crew was en route Sunday afternoon and planned to lay explosives on a ridge between the Flick Creek fire and the tiny town at the northern tip of Lake Chelan, which is accessible by boat, horse, seaplane or foot, but not by car. The idea would be to destroy trees and grasses that might otherwise fuel the fire, leaving a strip of soil, Peterson said. Smokejumpers were also working to dig a fire line.

Residents and visitors to Stehekin were warned to be ready to evacuate if necessary, and although 10 structures were under actual evacuation orders Sunday, no one had left, Peterson said. Instead, residents worked to protect their properties.

Meanwhile, crews and two helicopters also made progress Sunday against the 250-acre Bear Gulch Fire between Lake Cushman and the southwest face of Mount Rose in the Olympic National Forest.

In north central Washington, cooler weather helped slow the spread of the Tripod fire, which covered about 29 square miles of forestland just northeast of Winthrop. About 550 firefighters were working to maintain the lines south of the fire.

About 40 miles northeast of Entiat, the Tinpan fire had burned about five square miles of subalpine trees since it was started July 7 by lightning. Firefighters were trying to keep it form burning beyond the wilderness boundary.

Montana

Officials at Glacier National Park have asked people to evacuate the Cut Bank Creek campground as a cold front with strong winds pushed through the park Sunday evening and fueled the growth of the Red Eagle fire.

Fire information officer Shannon Downey said a flyover Sunday morning indicated the size of the fire had grown to 22,200 acres – or 34 square miles. The fire had been estimated at 8,600 acres Saturday evening.

Downey said she expected the fire would grow “quite a bit bigger” because of high winds. A high wind warning was in effect until 10 p.m. Sunday, with gusts around 50 mph in the forecast.

In addition to the Cut Bank Creek campground, all Cut Bank area trails and the park’s backcountry campground Atlantic Creek are closed, a Glacier National Park news release said.

The Glacier County sheriff’s office already urged residents and campers to evacuate the St. Mary’s area Saturday, but it was unknown Sunday how many actually did so.

U.S. Highway 89 north of Browning remained closed, Downing said. Going-to-the-Sun Road in the park is open from the west entrance to Rising Sun, where visitors are being asked to turn around.

The remainder of Glacier National Park remains open to visitors.

Meanwhile, the Sweathouse Creek area in the Bitterroot National Forest has been closed because a spot fire left the main 1,650-acre Gash Creek fire six miles southwest of Victor last night, said fire information officer Elsha Kirby.

A plane being used to fight the fire had to be grounded Sunday afternoon because of high winds, Kirby said.

Also in the Bitterroot Valley, the Woodchuck fire continued to burn trees and grass six miles northeast of Florence.

The 1,060-acre fire was estimated at 70 percent contained Sunday morning.

Idaho

Three new wildfires were reported Sunday in southern Idaho, including an eight-square-mile blaze near Gooding, a lightning-caused fire in the Boise National Forest north of Warm Lake and a human-caused blaze south of Boise near the state prison.

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, they’re among at least nine fires now burning in the state following days of 100-degree-plus temperatures and virtually no rain.

According to the Boise-based agency’s Web site, the Lava fire near Gooding was threatening wildlife habitat and some structures as it spread rapidly on federal Bureau of Land Management territory.

Dave Olson, Boise National Forest spokesman, said the Burnt fire eight miles north of Warm Lake was burning “quite actively” as it was pushed by gusty 15 mph winds.

Jessica Gardetto, a BLM firefighter in Boise, said there was no size estimate Sunday evening for the fire near the intersection of Pleasant Valley and 10 Mile roads near the Idaho State Correctional Institution, just south of the state capital.

Oregon

Cooler temperatures and lighter winds aided crews fighting the 9,000-acre Black Crater fire west of Sisters, Ore., on Sunday, and residents in three evacuated subdivisions might soon be able to return home, officials said.

On Saturday, crews performed controlled burns to create breaks between the forest fire and the subdivisions west of Sisters. The fire line held Sunday and crews spent the day cooling down hot spots along the perimeter.

The fire, which started from a lightning strike on July 23 and has yet to burn any houses, was 20 percent contained late Sunday, said Paul Norman, a spokesman for the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center in Portland.