Labor Mountain Fire Reaches Nearly 30000 Acres With Slow Progress

Yesterday: The part of the fire that had crossed Highway 97 on Thursday did not progress much further to the north and east yesterday. Crews are developing access points in this new area to the east and identifying control features where containment lines can be constructed. Handline, anchored by Highway 97 to the east, was completed north of the 7316 Road and continues west where it connects to the 7316 Road. The fire on the west side continued to progress north towards Ingalls Creek. A tactical firing operation took place in the Beverly Creek area north of the 9737 Road. Firefighters continue to mop-up, patrol, and secure the 9737 and 9703 roads as their main holding features. Containment line is being prepared coming off the Bear Creek trail down to the 9714 Road. Another burn out operation was conducted along the 200 Road to contain the flanking fire north of Iron Creek and west of South Shaser Creek. Crews worked through the night to continue the day’s operations.

Today: To the west, fire resources will monitor fire progression and hold it along the 9737 Road. Hose lays are ready and will be staffed. Along the south flank, firefighters are continuing fireline construction that has been underway for the last few days. And to the east, crews will be inserted well-ahead of the fire’s front to start prepping features and control lines identified yesterday. Structure protection groups will continue to support Kittitas County and Chelan County communities. Night resources will be present to monitor the fire’s movement.

Weather: A more prominent inversion will be present this morning resulting in smokey start to the day.  Humidity recoveries will be poor to moderate across ridgetops; better recoveries are expected in the drainages. Temperatures will be slightly higher than yesterday reaching into the mid-70s. Through midday and early afternoon winds will be from the south with a westerly component across the ridgetops, but will be largely wind-driven.

Evacuations: Chelan and Kittitas Counties have issued evacuations notices. These notifications have been revised as of yesterday. More information can be found at the Chelan County Office of Emergency Management website at https://www.co.chelan.wa.us/emergency-management/pages/active-emergencies and Kittitas County Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/KittitasCountySheriff.

Closures: For firefighter and public safety, the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest has a forest closure in place around the fire. Check the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest’s website alerts for current closures in the area: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/okanogan-wenatchee/alerts. Washington DNR has issued an area closure in the fire vicinity as well. The closure can be found at https://dnr.wa.gov/forest-and-trust-lands/teanaway-community-forest.

Smoke: Weather conditions today and tomorrow will limit smoke dispersal, with smoke largely following the terrain and settling in drainages and valleys.  Cle Elum, Ellensburg and Chelan will see GOOD conditions mostly, becoming MODERATE to Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups overnight. For smoke impacts, visit the WA Smoke blog: https://wasmoke.blogspot.com/ or Fire.AirNow.gov.