Washington fire nearly contained
ELLENSBURG – Firefighters on Monday drew close to full containment of a wildfire that destroyed two cabins and forced some evacuations between Cle Elum and Ellensburg in central Washington.
The Lauderdale fire was staying inside the line Monday, said spokesman Dale Warriner with the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center. The fire Monday night was estimated at 250 acres and was 90 percent contained, Warriner said. It earlier had been estimated at 400 acres before a better figure was obtained through global positioning technology, he said.
The fire burned two cabins, including a tin structure found burned on Monday. An evacuation order was issued earlier for about 27 residences, Warriner said – largely vacation-type structures, only about half occupied. Full containment was expected Tuesday, he said.
“It’s pretty breezy right now, but things are going well. It hasn’t grown any,” Warriner said Monday afternoon. He estimated winds were about 20 mph on the ridgetops, with no rain. The forecast for Tuesday calls for continued breezy weather.
The fire, which broke out Sunday afternoon, was about 6 miles east of Cle Elum near Lookout Mountain and 15 miles northwest of Ellensburg, south of the Wenatchee National Forest. Its cause was under investigation, but it is believed to be human-caused, Warriner said.
Elsewhere in Washington, the 200-acre Downey Creek fire, apparently caused by lightning, was burning on the edge of the Glacier Peak Wilderness about 16 miles east of Darrington in the Cascades, said Marc Hollen, an Interagency spokesman in Portland. No firefighters were assigned to the blaze, since it was not threatening any structures or campgrounds, he said.
The Sisi Ridge fire grew to 300 acres at the north end of Lake Chelan, about 8 miles west of Stehekin. Helicopters were used to slow the fire’s growth. Fire officials believe the fire was started by lightning last Thursday, Hollen said.
About 40 miles to the south, the 14,650-acre Pot Peak fire was 75 percent contained Monday. The blaze was started by lightning on June 26 about 15 miles west of Chelan.
Firefighters fully contained a lightning-sparked wildfire that burned nearly 780 acres near Leavenworth.