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Highlights: The White River and Irving Peak Fires were started by lightning on August 11 and are burning on the Okanagan-Wenatchee National Forest, approximately 15 miles northwest of Plain, WA. After clouds prevented an infrared flight for a couple days, an infrared flight yesterday provided fire personnel with a more accurate estimate of acres burned.

Operations: Crews continue to make good progress on prepping roads and chipping along White River and Road Forest Road 6404. They anticipate completing that work today. Sawyers are progressing up Forest Road 6500 felling dangerous snags while chipping crews follow behind them. Firefighters completed installation of sprinklers around buildings and will be testing those sprinkler systems today. A night crew is monitoring the fire and scouting possible fire line locations near Forest Road 6404.

Evacuations: Chelan County Sheriff's office has issued a Level 3 evacuation (Go Now) for Sears Creek Road, White River Road is at a Level 2 (Be Prepared), and Little Wenatchee Road is at a Level 1 (Stay Alert). Emergency personnel are in the process of advising residents in the area. Residents of five homes were evacuated from the Sears Creek Area.

For an interactive evacuation map of Chelan County, please visit
https://tinyurl.com/whiteriverevacuationmap.

To sign up for the Chelan County emergency alert system, please visit
https://public.alertsense.com/signup/?regionid=1184.

Weather: The possible storms yesterday swung south of Chelan County, allowing firefighters to focus on the White River and Irving Peak fires, rather than adding additional complexity from potential new lightning starts. Today’s weather should be a little cooler with good relative humidity and light winds. However, smoke will linger today, especially in creek drainages and lower elevations.

Fire Behavior: Persistent clouds and smoke will moderate fire activity. As fuels are dry, warm and dry conditions may cause additional fire spread on the upper slopes on the Irving Peak Fire, as the fire has begun to crest the western ridge into the wilderness.

COVID-19: On Thursday, August 18 Chelan County moved into HIGH for COVID-19 Community Level. Fire personnel are implementing precautions to reduce the risk of transmission at fire camp and out in the field. For current COVID-19 guidance and information visit: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/

Closures: The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest has issued a closure order for the White River Fire area: https://www.fs.usda.gov/.../FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd1054295.pdf Additionally, it is recommended to avoid recreating in the Little Wenatchee and White River Road (FS Roads 6500 and 6400) areas.
Restrictions: Campfires are not allowed anywhere within the Okanogan Wenatchee National Forest. Stage 2 Restrictions are now in effect for the entire forest, including campgrounds and wilderness areas:https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/okawen/alerts-notices/... 

Pacific Crest Trail: Smoke is visible from the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). While there is currently no impact to the PCT, hikers should be aware that Little Wenatchee Ford and White River Trailheads are closed and cannot be used to access the PCT.

Safety Message: Firefighter crews and equipment are busy in and around the fire area. Helicopters and water-scooping aircraft are periodically active on Lake Wenatchee. Be prepared to clear areas of the lake and stay close to shore when scooper aircraft are operating. Please avoid all areas where people and equipment are working. Be cautious and continue to do all you can to prevent wildfires.

Smoke: The current smoke forecast outlook, along with information about air quality health recommendations during smoky conditions, is available at: Washington Smoke Information https://wasmoke.blogspot.com/

Follow Us Online: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8329/ and
www.facebook.com/WhiteRiverFireInfo
https://www.facebook.com/nwteam7/
 
A Spanish translation available will be available at:
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/news/8329/