Single Publication

Pioneer Fire Update for July 10, 2024  

Incident Commander Jeff Dimke

Complex Incident Management Team Northwest 12

541-861-5808, staffed 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. 2024.pioneer@firenet.gov 

Start date: June 8, 2024  

Location: 31 miles northwest of Chelan, WA  

Containment: 14%  

Fire size: 12,265 acres  

Cause: Human caused, under investigation  

Total personnel: 818

A public meeting will be held today at 5:30 PM at the Manson Grange. The meeting will be streamed live on Facebook. Please submit questions to 2024.pioneer@firenet.gov or via Messenger. There also will be a public meeting at the Golden West Visitor Center in Stehekin on July 11 at 6 PM.

The Pioneer Fire is burning within a mountainous and remote area on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest near Lake Chelan. Although much of the fire is in the Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness, firefighters are using a full suppression response to protect values at risk, life, and property, while always keeping firefighter and public safety as the primary objective. The communities of Chelan, Manson, and Stehekin are open and continue to welcome visitors. Many recreation sites along Lake Chelan remain open and accessible (see closure information below).

Crews made progress around the community of Stehekin yesterday, brushing along the main road as a designated contingency line. Two smoke columns were prominent in the afternoon from active fire behavior in Meadow Creek and Prince Creek drainages. Short upslope runs circled around Horton Butte, but helicopter water drops kept the fire from impacting Fish Creek. Heavy equipment continued to work on contingency line construction along the ridge northwest of Gold Creek and firefighters scouted the line downslope to Lake Chelan. Firefighters made good progress and continued with structure assessment and protection needs for buildings and residences around the lake. Aircraft assisted with initial attack on a new start and dropped 76,000 gallons on the Pioneer Fire alone. A heat-related medical emergency occurred with one firefighter transported via helicopter for treatment; the firefighter is in stable condition and will be released today.

Efforts on Nelson Ridge are continuing today as firefighters work the from the bottom of the lake shore, connecting the hose lays as they continue to build contingency lines in the area. Uncrewed Aerial Systems will be working across different sections of the fire to gather observations and intelligence including infrared data. Firefighters are assessing structures around Deer Point as well as continuing community protection in Stehekin. Crews will continue constructing contingency line along Cooper Mountain Divide toward Antilon.

WEATHER AND SMOKE: A dry cold front will pass over the fire area today bringing gusty winds and low relative humidity resulting in the National Weather Service issuing a red flag warning today. The air quality outlook can be found at https://bit.ly/PioneerFireSmoke. Learn more about smoke at smokeready.org. The fire marshal issued fire danger ratings and restrictions; see https://t.ly/WLBds for more information. 

EVACUATIONS AND CLOSURES: Level 1, 2, and 3 evacuation levels remain in effect around the Pioneer Fire; please visit https://t.ly/QoH9w for more information. The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest has a closure order in place for much of the fire area. Details and maps are available at: https://bit.ly/PioneerClosure. 

A Temporary Flight Restriction is in place over the fire: https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_4_6779.html. 

https://linktr.ee/pioneerfirechelan