FIRE REPORT: Kittitas County has a multi-fire outbreak

KITTITAS COUNTY — On Friday and Saturday, Kittitas County saw an outbreak of eight fires, six of them being 10 acres. The fires include from largest to smallest: Thomas Mountain Fire, 10 acres; Stave Creek Fire, 10 acres; Davis Peak Fire, 1 acre; Anna Bell Drive Fire,1 acre; Waptus Fire, 0.5 acre; Bear Creek Fire, 0.5 acres and Skeeter Creek Fire, 0.1 acre.  

According to Kittitas County Fire Protection 6, lightning on Friday, expected to continue Saturday, caused these fires. According to the U.S. Forest Service — Okanagan and Wenatchee National Forest, scooper planes are delivering water to the two biggest fires from Lake Kachess. The Thomas Mountain Fire is in steep, inaccessible terrain and aerial firefighters are working to contain it. The Stave Creek Fire is being worked on by hand crews and fire engines. 

The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for Kittitas County from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday due to high temperatures, low humidity and abundant lightning. These conditions may lead to more new fires starting. 

The three biggest fires actively burning in Washington on Saturday:   

As of Saturday, the Pioneer Fire, currently Washington's largest active wildfire, spans approximately 37,000 acres. Containment is steady at 13%, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. This fire began around 1 p.m. July 8 and is located 10 miles southwest of Stehekin. A crew of 654 firefighters is combatting the blaze, with full containment expected by Oct. 31. 

The Retreat Fire, Washington's second-largest active blaze, has held steady at 44,600 acres as of Saturday. This fire began around 4 p.m. July 23, located roughly 14 miles southwest of Naches. Fire containment has improved from 64% on Thursday to 66% on Saturday, reports InciWeb. There are currently 536 firefighters working to control the blaze. 

The Cougar Creek Fire, the third-largest fire, ignited at 8:13 p.m. July 15, has remained at approximately 21,500 acres. Containment has increased by 5% since Thursday, now reaching 40% as of Saturday, according to InciWeb. The fire is about one mile west of the intersection of Highway 129 and the Grand Ronde River. Currently, around 416 personnel are actively constructing containment lines and protecting threatened structures and resources. Full containment is projected for Oct. 1. 

Three new fires started in Washington: 

The Thomas Mountain Fire started on Friday night at 7:21 p.m. in Kittitas County. The fire has expanded to 14 acres with no containment as of Saturday, according to NIFC. 

The Stave Creek Fire started on Friday night at 8:15 p.m. in Kittitas County. The fire is 14 acres with no containment as of Saturday according to NIFC. 

The Ruby Fire began Friday morning at 7:20 a.m. in Whatcom County. The fire started at 5 acres but quickly expanded to 107 acres according to NIFC. There is no containment. There are trail, campsite and cross-country zone closures, according to the National Parks Service.  

Two fires were contained in Washington: 

The Salmon Creek Fire started at about 11:30 a.m. Aug. 4 in Okanogan County. The fire was burning east of the Conconully Dam and scorched 831 acres. The fire was contained at 8:09 p.m. Friday.  

The Williams or Antler Fire started Friday at 1:48 p.m. but was contained by 3:40 p.m. the same day. The fire burned 18 acres.  

These fires were burning in Washington on Thursday, according to the NIFC:  

The Easy Fire, ignited by a dry lightning storm at 7:55 p.m. July 17, has grown from 1,500 acres on Thursday to nearly 1,800 acres by Saturday, according to InciWeb. Located 17 miles west of Mazama, the fire remains uncontained as of Wednesday. A team of 218 personnel is working to control the blaze, with an estimated containment date of Oct. 1. 

The Flat Creek Fire started on Friday remains at about 20 acres and no containment as of Saturday. The fire is in Chelan County, near Flat Creek.   

The Miners Complex Fires, comprising nine separate blazes, remains at 650 acres as of Saturday, according to InciWeb. The fires remain uncontained. The fires, which erupted July 17 and 18, are 21 miles east of Darrington. 

The Pincer Two Fire, as of Saturday, has burned 115 acres and remains uncontained, according to InciWeb. The fire started July 18 and is located one mile east of Mineral Park. The fire was sparked by the same lightning storm that started the Miners Complex Fires. InciWeb estimates the containment date to be Oct. 31. 

The Shoofly Fire has held steady at 104 acres and is 63% contained as of Saturday, according to InciWeb. Ignited on July 8, the fire is located nine miles north of Stevens Pass.  

The Williams Mine Fire started Aug. 5 at 12:03 p.m. was about 4,500 acres as of Thursday but expanded to almost 5,600 acres with 1% containment. There are currently 95 personnel working on the fire. 

The Wolf Fork Fire started Monday at 2:08 p.m. in Columbia County. The fire has quickly expanded from 10 acres Thursday to 130 acres by Saturday, according to NIFC. The fire is 18% contained and there are level one evacuation orders in effect. 

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 Saturday for the Columbia Basin, according to the website AirNow, which is operated by a consortium of government agencies.