Douglas County forest fire now mostly contained

A forest fire that burned 71 acres north of Orondo in Douglas County on Saturday evening is now mostly contained.

The fire is approximately 75% contained, estimated Curtis Bryan, field manager at the Bureau of Land Management’s Wenatchee field office. Firefighters were expected to have the blaze completely contained by as early as the end of the day Monday, he said.

BLM, the Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Forest Service and Douglas County helped battle the fire.

The blaze prompted a Level 1 evacuation notice, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, alerting residents to the possibility of evacuation, though not requiring residents to leave yet.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, most of Eastern Washington has above-average risk this month for significant wildfire potential.

Bryan said wildfires in the Columbia River Basin are becoming more frequent.

“As a general statistic, the majority of fires are human-caused, but we get a number of natural fires as well,” Bryan said.

Fires can result from a spark off a set of chains on a semi truck driving down the highway or from a lightning strike. The dry season makes brush more prone to ignite, but a fire can start any time.