Firefighters race to beat weather

WINTHROP, Wash. – Firefighters burned fuel in the path of two wildfires in north-central Washington on Friday in hopes of slowing their growth before hot weather and potential thunderstorms sweep through the region this weekend.

The Tripod and Spur Peak fires together have burned about 161 square miles, or more than 103,000 acres, between Winthrop and Conconully. More than 2,600 firefighters, including 550 soldiers from Fort Lewis, were assigned to the two fires Friday.

Favorable winds allowed firefighters to conduct some burnout operations close to established fire lines Friday, said Mick Mueller, a U.S. Forest Service fire spokesman in Conconully.

The fires were 30 percent contained. Both were started by lightning last month.

However, the weather forecast included warm, dry conditions through the weekend and into Monday, with temperatures closing in on 100 degrees.

“We could see isolated thunderstorms, which means wind gusts, potential for lightning,” Mueller said. “So the next three or four days are going to be highlights.”

Firefighters have been concerned that the two-fire complex could grow to the north or northeast. The fires burned quickly through some areas, leaving patches of unburned brush and trees that could ignite and create spot fires.

Elsewhere, the Flick Creek fire was 50 percent contained on the east shore of Lake Chelan. The fire has blackened 4,401 acres. Authorities cited a Michigan woman with reckless burning for allegedly sparking the blaze with her campfire.

The 4,652-acre Tinpan fire along the Entiat River trail in the Glacier Peak Wilderness was being managed as a wildland use fire, meaning it will be allowed to burn naturally unless it threatens to go beyond preset boundaries.