Wash. Fire Crews Ferry Across Lake to Battle Blaze
GRAND COULEE, Wash. -- Firefighters on Wednesday closed a small park on Banks Lake to use as both a staging and boat-launch area in the fight against a 470-acre wildfire on the opposite side of the lake.
The Bureau of Reclamation closed to the public the Banks Lake Park, near the North Dam between Grand Coulee and Electric City, so Bureau of Land Management firefighters could set up operations to battle the blaze.
The fire was first reported around noon Tuesday in the Barker Canyon area.
Fire crews and equipment are being ferried to the wildfire, called the Cashe Butte Fire, in an isolated area on the west side of Banks Lake, said Janet Rogers, incident commander for a statewide management team assigned to the fire.
Crews have contracted with local sheriff's offices and fire districts for up to four boats to take crews across the lake, said Rogers. This morning, two boats were working to retrieve crews and bring in replacements.
"It's a process that's going well, but going slowly," said Rogers.
About 120 firefighters from agencies in the Pacific Northwest are battling the blaze, said Rogers. "Because it's across the lake, there are no dozers on this fire -- fire lines are all hand dug in tough terrain."
This morning, the fire was 50 percent contained with a 50-foot mop-up area around the perimeter. Rogers said crews were shooting for a 200-foot mop-up area by day's end.
The cause of the blaze is still under investigation, she said.
Meanwhile, three fires in the Chelan-Entiat area have been fully contained, said fire spokeswoman Tina Blodgett. Those fires include the 800-acre Navarre Fire, the 110-acre Chelan Butte Fire and the 40-acre Decker Fire near Entiat.
Major operations have been stepped down to patrol status, she said, in which smaller strike teams monitor the areas for hot spots.
Wildfire smoke lingering for two days in the Wenatchee Valley was mostly cleared Wednesday night by an upper level front that crept through the area. This morning, Wenatchee's air quality was labeled good, according to the website of the state Department of Ecology.
Copyright 2012 - The Wenatchee World, Wash.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service