Icicle Creek fire stabilizes; progress made

LEAVENWORTH, Wash. – A fire in the Icicle Creek Drainage west of this Bavarian-theme tourist town was holding steady at 700 acres Saturday, and six water-dropping helicopters made good progress as crews braced for foul weather.

“The weather could make it iffy,” said David Widmark of the Northwest Interagency Fire Coordination Center in Portland. “Part of the southern region in the Wenatchee National Forest could possibly get some lightning either today or tomorrow.”

The fire, sparked by lightning and discovered Thursday, was nine miles west of Leavenworth. All campgrounds in the area had been evacuated, but some Icicle Road residents chose to stay.

Dave Varner’s home sits just outside an evacuated area. He spent Friday afternoon hacking away vegetation and placing hoses and sprinklers around his house.

He didn’t plan to leave unless he could see flames approaching.

“I’ll get worried if it gets much closer,” said Varner, who lost his home in the 1994 Rat Creek Fire. “If I see a big wall coming at me, I’ll get out of here.”

Northeast of Leavenworth, mop-up crews – about 400 firefighters – were working the Pot Peak fire 15 miles west of Chelan.

The fire was nearly 70 percent contained at 11,400 acres. Fire bosses expected it to continue moving along its western perimeter, eventually stopping in an area of previous burns, Widmark said.

On Friday, the fire burning in steep, dry terrain grew by 400 acres, spurred by hot temperatures and low humidity. Concerned fire officials worried that expected lightning could bring new fires.

“The dry lightning is not expected to be accompanied with much rain, and we are anticipating drier, hotter weather after the storm,” said Dave Johnson, fire incident commander.

No major injuries or property damage were reported in any of the fires.