Single Publication

Start date: June 8, 2024  

Location: 31 miles northwest of Chelan, WA  

Containment: 14%  

Fire size: 15,757 acres  

Cause: Human caused, under investigation  

Total personnel: 804

The Pioneer Fire is burning within a mountainous and remote area on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest near Lake Chelan. Firefighters are using a full suppression response in the Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness to protect values at risk, life, and property, with firefighter and public safety as the primary objective. The communities of Chelan, Manson, and Stehekin are open and continue to welcome visitors. 

The WA Department of Natural Resources is offering a resource to landowners, “Financial Assistance for Wildfire Resilience and Forest Health.” Details may be found at: https://tinyurl.com/3d3p3vmh 

Yesterday, firing operations approximately 8 miles southeast of Stehekin reduced fuel loading around structures along the lakeshore between Moore Point and Meadow Creek. Conditions were favorable for firefighters to methodically ignite small patches to clean up ground fuels in a more controlled manner, ensuring this firing operation slowly consumed fuels ahead of the approaching wildfire. This low-intensity fire successfully removed dry and dead ground fuels and debris. By removing these fuels in advance, the threat to homes and infrastructure along the lakeshore was significantly reduced by providing a burned-out buffer zone to protect these structures while also limiting the opportunity for wildfire to move through at high intensity.

Firefighters completed a hose lay down from Nelson Butte to the shoreline of the lake and will test that system today. They also performed a reconnaissance mission to locate any active fire behavior in the area. Near-term priorities are community point protection for cabins and infrastructure on private and federal lands. 

WEATHER AND SMOKE: Today, a heat advisory issued by the National Weather Service, coupled with breezy and extremely dry conditions, will contribute to active fire behavior. 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  for more information. 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.