Pot Peak fire steadies after Friday spread

CHELAN, Wash. – A wildfire in north-central Washington was holding steady around 14,010 acres Saturday as temperatures across the state reached into the 90s for a second consecutive day.

The Pot Peak fire remained about 68 percent contained and had not spread beyond containment lines, said Troy Kinghorn, a spokesman with the U.S. Forest Service.

Crews spent the day patrolling areas outside the fire’s edge to look for any spot fires. A few flare-ups near Windy Camp at the south end of the fire kept firefighters on their toes.

The fire grew by around 2,000 acres Friday night, racing over a forested slope east of the North Fork Twentyfive Mile Creek.

During Friday’s east winds, rising temperatures and falling humidity, the most active burning was on the fire’s western flank, where crews watched the blaze burn up through steep terrain.

The blaze, which started June 26 about 15 miles west of here, has not burned any structures, and there have been no recent injuries. A firefighter was hit in the head by a sapling about two weeks ago but has recovered. Nearly 300 people are assigned to the fire.

A 13-acre fire that started Friday was burning four miles north of Tokeland in Pacific County.

Two helicopters dropped water on the fire, and by early Saturday evening it was at least 70 percent contained, said Joanne Snarski, fire information officer with the Department of Natural Resources.