Single Publication

The Pioneer Fire is burning in the Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness Area on the Chelan Ranger District of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest and on private land 31 miles northwest of Chelan. The communities of Stehekin, Chelan, and Manson continue to welcome visitors, with limited smoke and fire activity expected for the weekend and coming holiday week. Pioneer Fire managers are using a full suppression firefighting strategy to protect private property, public infrastructure, and natural and recreation resources, while minimizing risks to responders and the public. Due to extreme terrain, they are using indirect attack, creating control lines away from the fire's edge, and point zone protection, which includes setting up pumps, hoses, and sprinklers.

Yesterday, crews continued working to protect structures outside the fire perimeter near the lakeshore, achieving 7% containment. Containment is only one measure of firefighting success, declared only when fire lines are constructed or improved and thoroughly tested. Fire managers must be confident fire will not cross the line in that location. Due to the inaccessibility of much of the fire perimeter, many miles of indirect fire line are being built, which can limit the containment percentage. In the upper end of Meadow Creek, a few hotspots were identified and suppressed with two helicopters dropping 66,420 gallons of water, before becoming a larger threat. In Stehekin, crews are implementing the structure protection plan from Boulder Creek, around the historic school and will continue progressing north to minimize fire impacts. Firefighters today will continue working to cool hotspots as they are identified and accessible. They also continue to develop contingency fire lines down lake, removing vegetation and improving roads. Fire operations are responsive to changes in weather, fire behavior, and ongoing safety assessments and implementation may vary from plans.

WEATHER: Expect cloud cover most of the day with a slight chance of rain increasing into Sunday. Winds may increase and are predicted to shift from up lake in the morning to down lake in the evening. The air quality outlook is at https://bit.ly/PioneerFireSmoke. Learn more about smoke at smokeready.org.

EVACUATIONS: Chelan County evacuation levels were downgraded yesterday. A Level 2 (Be Prepared) order is now in effect from Flick Creek Campground south to Fir Creek. Down lake, a Level 1 (Stay Alert) order is in place from Lone Fir Creek to Safety Harbor. A Level 1 order is also in place up lake from Flick Creek Campground to, and including, the Fourmile Creek camping area. Visit https://t.ly/QoH9w for more information.

CLOSURE UPDATE: The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest updated their closure area yesterday for portions of the Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness and surrounding areas. Further details, including maps, are available at: https://bit.ly/PioneerClosure. Many recreation sites remain open and accessible.