Mohr Canyon wildfire near Waterville grows to 6,400 acres, threatening homes

A new wildfire in Douglas County grew to about 6,400 acres Wednesday and was threatening homes, said Ben Shearer, public information officer at the Southeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team.

Shearer called the 6,400-acre figure a “really rough estimate” because crews did not have the fire perimeter mapped out. He said that number is expected to go up and down the next couple days, as mapping improves.

The Mohr Canyon fire started at about 4 p.m. on Monday near Waterville, north of Wenatchee. It is threatening crops and homes. The fire had reached 1,200 acres by Tuesday night.

The fire was 0% contained Wednesday night, Shearer said.

Level 2 evacuations – in which residents are warned to pack up and be ready to leave immediately – were issued Tuesday night but were reduced to Level 1 Wednesday morning for Wagon Road and Palisades Road from Wagon Road to the Grant County line, the sheriff’s office said. Those evacuations were raised again to Level 2 Wednesday.

Shearer said he was unaware of any structures burned as of Wednesday night.

“We’re hopeful we haven’t lost anything yet,” Shearer said, adding that more information would be provided Thursday morning.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office announced it had placed a roadblock Tuesday night on Douglas Creek Road, north of Wagon Road and north of Palisades, and advised people to stay out of the area while crews worked the fire .