Initial Update Saturday August 2, 2008
Incident: Green Lake Wildland Fire
Released: 8/2/2008
The Green Lake Fire began at approximately 5:30pm on Thursday, July 31 near the intersection of Salmon Creek Rd. and Green Lake Rd., approximately 6 miles northwest of Okanogan, WA. The cause is under investigation at this time. The fire was wind-driven by gusts up to 25mph and remained active throughout the night and on Friday, August 1, moving primarily to the north and to the east. Aerial reconnaissance conducted late-morning on August 1 determined the fire to be approximately 1,000 acres at that time; it grew to over 2000 acres by the end of the day. Air resources dropped water and retardant throughout the day on August 1.
Residents on the 410 Road, off the north end of the Green Lake Road are now allowed back into their homes. The Level 3 evacuation notice that went into effect the evening of July 31 was reduced to an alert this morning. Residents on Green Lake Road and Conconully Road are advised to be aware of the fire situation in the area (a Level 1 notification), and should know that if the fire situation changes they may need to prepare to evacuate. Only 1 outbuilding is known to have been lost at this time.
This fire is burning in varied terrain, from timber on steep slopes to flat ground with sagebrush and grass vegetation.The local resources who initially responded to this fire did an excellent job of coordinating to ensure the safety of firefighters and the public. Okanogan County Fire Districts, as well as the Department of Natural Resources. Bureau of Land Management, and the Okanogan County Sheriff and Emergency Management, worked together to aggressively fight the fire safely. Washington's Interagency Incident Management Team 1 will build upon those efforts to achieve the objectives outlined by the Washington Department of Natural Resources and the Bureau of Land Management, Safety of the firefighters and the public remains the highest priority.
TODAY'S PLANNED ACTIONS: Crews will be working to conduct tactical structure protection and create fire trails with both hand crews and dozers. Additional resources will be arriving and be incorporated into the firefighting efforts throughout the day. Local firefighters and arriving resources will be working together to meet the incident objectives.
WEATHER: Winds are expected to be lighter than on previous days - 3 to 8 mph in the morning from the northwest, becoming variable and 2-5 mph in the afternoon. The high temperature range for the fire area is forecast to be in the low 70s and low 80s, with relative humidity less than 20%.
