Officials Say Fishtrap Fire Likely Arson

A fire that burned 1,000 acres here may have been deliberately set, state officials said Thursday.

Investigators with the Washington Department of Natural Resources spent much of the day examining the area near the Spokane-Lincoln county line where the blaze began Wednesday evening.

They concluded that the fire was definitely caused by humans and was likely arson, Resources officials said.

The investigation into the cause is continuing, said Steve Jennison, a Resources spokesman.

Meanwhile, a 3,500-acre fire continued burning out of control Thursday near Lake Chelan in central Washington, threatening 16 homes and rare spotted owl habitat.

Five hundred more firefighters and 10 retardant-dumping helicopters are expected to pour into the area today to help battle the flames.

The 300 firefighters and three helicopters already on the scene spent all of Thursday protecting homes in the Twenty-Five Mile Creek area, said Marti Ames, a spokeswoman for the Wenatchee National Forest.

“They were able to knock down the head of the fire to keep it away from the houses,” Ames said.

But crews made no progress in building trails around the fire, which was still burning wildly in steep canyons about three miles south of Lake Chelan.

“It’s not done yet,” Ames said of the fire that blew up with such ferocity Wednesday it chased firefighters out of the woods and forced the evacuation of several campgrounds. “Hopefully, the weather will cooperate today.”

The news was better at the Fishtrap fire.

Aided by lighter winds and cooler temperatures, nearly 300 firefighters from around the state gained control of the blaze Thursday.

Crews using shovels and bulldozers had built trails around 90 percent of the fire by mid-afternoon and hoped to have the blaze encircled by Thursday evening, Jennison said.

“The winds haven’t materialized today, so that’s helped us out quite a bit,” he said.

The fire broke out about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday near the Old State Highway and the Fishtrap Road cutoff in eastern Lincoln County.

Fed by high winds and record high temperatures, it quickly raced out of control. Flames gobbled up parched grasslands, small groves of trees and an abandoned homestead being remodeled by the federal Bureau of Land Management.

Fire crews are expected to remain on the scene for the next couple of days mopping up hot spots.

Spokane headline: Investigators suspect arson in Fishtrap fire