by Richard Uhlhorn
At the last update on July 7, the Pioneer Fire has grown to almost 10,000 acres and Level 3 evacuations have been extended to Safety Harbor. UPDATE: 4 p.m., 7.8.24 – The Incident Command Team is taking over Manson’s Singleton Park as its next fire encampment.
Chelan Fire and Rescue Commissioner Russ Jones has been driving the Fire & Rescue boat in support of personnel working the fire. In a telephone conversation, Jones stated that a back burn operation went well until the down lake wind came up at 7 p.m. on Saturday evening. “It was one hell of a night,” stated Jones who was evacuating fire fighters from the Prince Creek and Canoe Creek locations. “You can’t really see the shoreline at night and then there is all the wood,” he added.
Jones said he was really happy when the rescue evacuation operation was over at 1 a.m. “I’m really impressed with the firefighters,” Jones said. “They are dealing with heat, dust and smoke, but are really courteous and nice.”
The lower valley should prepare itself for the next week of extreme heat. Jones said that this coming Wednesday afternoon there will be another down lake wind coming out of the west reaching up to 20 mph gusts.
The high temperatures and relatively low humidity will continue to be a contributing factor to increased fire behavior. Fire fighting crews continue to work on protecting structures, both private and public.
Crews continue to bolster the old 2001 Deer Pt. fire breaks all the way to the lake.
Manson Fire Chief Arnold Baker said the down lake wind the other night really screwed things up and he’s not optimistic about the next week. “As I said at the Manson Community meeting, my job is to plan for the worstcase scenario. I still think that’s where we are headed.”
“If the fire jumps the Coyote Ridge breaks it will jump all the others,” stated Baker. He went on to say the Incident Team is really supporting the efforts to protect Manson. “The are doing real legitimate work. We are integrated into the team efforts,” added Baker. “We are preparing to protect Manson.”
District 5 and District 7 are working together. “Brandon and I just finished a meeting with the team here at District 7.”
Smoke has become a regular occurrence in the Lake Chelan Valley, which could help keep daily temperatures a little lower, but not by much.
It is predicted that excessive temperatures will drive fire behavior and continue to grow the Pioneer Fire until the snow falls in November. The fire is currently burning in the old Rex Creek Fire boundary which has a lot of old deadfall, grasses, bushes and other flammable material. The Rex Creek Fire burned over 60,000 acres back in 2001.
Further south of the Rex Creek Fire boundary there is the remains of the Deer Point Fire which took place in 2002 and actually threatened the northern reaches of Manson.
Work is being undertaken to strengthen and open up the old fire breaks on the Grade Creek Road north and along Coyote Ridge to the lake.
Currently, there are 604 personnel on this fire with only 14% containment. Aerial water drops are also continuing non-stop during the daylight hours.
All Things Lake Chelan will continue to stay on top of this emerging story and keep its followers updated as more information comes in.
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