MOSES LAKE — The Swawilla Fire, ignited by lightning at 11:30 p.m. on July 17, was Washington’s largest active blaze, having consumed approximately 53,500 acres. The fire is now 98 percent contained, as of Thursday according to InciWeb.
According to a press release from the Swawilla I Fire team, the firefighters will continue to identify and suppress smoking areas and residual pockets of heat and focus on mopping containment lines.
There will be no more updates coming from InciWeb on the fire. The fire team will also stop releasing press statements on the fire due to it being almost fully contained. The Southern Area Blue Complex Incident Management Team transferred management of the fire to a local organization at 6 a.m. Thursday.
The Keller Ferry is open and fully functional. However, there are still roads not be open to the public. Most evacuation notices are not in effect anymore. The town of Keller, the Highway 21 corridor, Mt. Tolman, Buffalo Lake and McGinnis Lake are the only level two evacuations in effect according to the press release.
Largest Washington fires:
- The Pioneer Fire, now the largest active wildfire in Washington, expanded from about 36,800 acres Wednesday to almost 37,000 acres Thursday. Containment increased from 12 percent, to 13 percent though, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. The fire ignited around 1 p.m. July 8 is located 10 miles southwest of Stehekin. A crew of 654 personnel is working to fight the blaze. Full containment is estimated by Oct. 31.
- The Retreat Fire, the second-largest active blaze in Washington, has remained at 44,600 acres as of Thursday. The fire, which ignited around 4 p.m. July 23, is about 14 miles southwest of Naches. Fire containment has remained steady at 64 percent according to InciWeb. Currently, 543 personnel are actively engaged in firefighting efforts.
- The Cougar Creek Fire, the third-largest fire ignited at 8:13 p.m. July 15 has expanded to about 21,000 acres with containment steady at 35 percent Thursday, according to InciWeb. The fire is about one mile west of the intersection of Highway 129 and the Grand Ronde River. Currently, around 483 personnel are constructing containment lines and protecting threatened structures and resources. Full containment is projected for Oct. 1.
One new fire was reported in Washington on Thursday:
- The Davenport Fire started at about 3 p.m. Wednesday. The fire is considered a brush fire and quickly expanded to 25 acres by Thursday. There is no containment.
Other fires
The fires below continue to be monitored by the NIFC in Washington.
- The Easy Fire, sparked by a dry lightning storm at 7:55 p.m. July 17, remained at 1,500 acres Thursday, according to InciWeb. The lighting caused fire, burning 17 miles west of Mazama, remains uncontained as of Wednesday. Efforts to control the blaze involve 218 personnel. Fire managers estimate a containment date of Oct. 1.
- The Flat Creek Fire started on Friday remains at about 20 acres and no containment as of Thursday. The fire is in Chelan County, near Flat Creek.
- The Miners Complex Fires, comprising nine separate blazes, remains at 650 acres as of Thursday, according to InciWeb. The fires remain uncontained. The fires, which erupted on July 17 and 18, are 21 miles east of Darrington. Containment is estimated by Oct. 31, fire officials report.
- The Pincer Two Fire, ignited July 18, has scorched 115 acres and remains uncontained as of Thursday, according to InciWeb. The fire is one mile east of Mineral Park and was triggered by the same lightning storm that started the Miners Complex Fires. The estimated containment date is Oct. 31, InciWeb reports.
- The Salmon Creek Fire started at about 11:30 a.m. Monday in Okanogan County. The fire remained at around 800 acres as of Thursday according to NIFC with no containment. The fire is burning east of the Conconully Dam.
- The Shoofly Fire has held steady at 104 acres and is 63 percent contained as of Thursday, according to InciWeb. Ignited on July 8, the fire is located nine miles north of Stevens Pass.
- The Williams Mine Fire started Monday at 12:03 p.m. was about 3,000 acres as of Wednesday but expanded to 4,500 acres as of Tuesday with no containment. There are currently 22 personnel working on the fire.
- The Wolf Fork Fire started Monday at 2:08 p.m. in Columbia County. The fire has burned 10 acres with no containment as of Thursday, according to NIFC. There are no evacuation orders in effect as of press time.
Other fires reported throughout the state have burned less than 10 acres and are not included in this report. The majority are less than 1 acre.
Grant County’s wildfire danger continues to be very high. The Grant County Sheriff’s office has asked area residents to be careful with anything that could cause a wildfire.
Air quality was moderate Thursday for the Columbia Basin, according to the website AirNow, which is operated by a consortium of government agencies.
