Little Giant Fire grows to 132,978 acres as evacuations expand near Plain

LAKE WENATCHEE — Fire officials are urging residents in the Plain and Lake Wenatchee areas to exercise caution, stay prepared, and rely on official sources for updates as the fire continues to grow.

According to the incident management team, gusty winds from a passing thunderstorm increased fire activity along the eastern side of the Chiwawa River earlier in the week, requiring firefighters to shift tactics to secure this section of the fire. 

Saturday, Chelan County Emergency Management escalated evacuation levels for the area and expanded the boundaries into Plain. The Emergency Management team and Search and Rescue (SAR) volunteers spent Saturday afternoon knocking on doors throughout the Level 2 evacuation areas. Personnel are actively placing signage and monitoring access points across the district’s neighborhoods to ensure residents are informed if conditions evolve, according to Lake Wenatchee Fire & Rescue (LWFR).

LWFR is urging its residents to keep emergency kits packed, stay calm, and review their evacuation plans. The Chelan County Emergency Incidents Map shows current evacuation orders for the area. Residents can also sign up to receive evacuation notifications via Everbridge Emergency Alert Program to send evacuation notifications directly to residents in the area. 

The district said it remains fully operational for all standard 911 medical, rescue, and routine emergency calls. The local summer crew has been deployed and actively engaged on the front lines assisting with suppression efforts.

“Expect the Little Giant Fire to continue burning for some time as wildland crews actively conduct controlled burning operations to secure containment lines,” said LWFR Fire Chief Steve Foley in a statement.

Saturday, fire officials said they took advantage of favorable weather conditions to conduct firing operations southward along Chiwawa River Road using an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) with a plastic sphere dispenser (PSD) and hand ignitions. Officials said ground teams secured anchor points along Chiwawa River Road to push south and halt southwestern fire expansion, with firing operations continuing overnight.

According to the incident management team, crews are spending Sunday mopping up behind these firing operations to increase the depth of the road as a fireline and ensure it remains effective at halting the spread of the approaching wildfire. From Twin Lakes to Chiwawa River Road along Big Meadow Road, firefighters are continuing to hold the fire and patrol for hotspots while deepening mop-up. Heavy equipment is also making progress on secondary fireline along Pole Ridge.

In the Entiat River drainage, firefighters are continuing to hold Tyee Ridge Road to Tyee Lookout and the dozer line parallel to Tyee Creek. Crews are securing the line using hoselays for water to cool the fire’s edge, mopping up, and reinforcing the fireline. From Entiat River Road to Gene Creek, firefighters are directly engaging the fire’s edge using handline, hoselays, and helicopter water drops.

Crews have developed a plan to construct a fireline from Gene Creek to Baldy Mountain, with work beginning Sunday. Masticators are continuing to clear brush along Potato Creek, while firefighters extend the handline up McKenzie Ridge to establish a secondary fireline. Additional control construction is underway on Johnson Creek, Forest Mountain, and Slide Ridge.

Near Lake Chelan, dozers are reinforcing control lines in the Grouse Mountain area to connect with existing road systems. A hotshot crew is constructing a fireline southward from Junior Point along Devil’s Backbone. A UAS equipped with infrared thermal imaging surveyed the spot fire on the northeast shore of Lake Chelan and detected several lingering interior heat signatures. North of the fire, boats and helicopters delivered supplies to support ongoing structure protection preparations in Domke Lake and Lucerne.

Structure protection efforts continue throughout the fire area. Firefighters are maintaining and improving hoselays, sprinkler systems, and defensible space around structures. Crews and resources assigned to the incident remain available to respond to new fire starts.

The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest has issued a closure order for the Little Giant Fire Area, as well as a forest-wide campfire ban. There is also a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) over the fire area. Unauthorized drone activity is prohibited under this TFR, as firefighting helicopters and aircraft cannot fly when drones are present.

The incident management team is asking people to stay near the shore and clear of firefighting aircraft scooping water from area lakes and rivers.

The lightning-caused fire started July 15 in the upper Chiwawa River drainage of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, about 20-30 miles northwest of Leavenworth.

International reinforcements, including 90 personnel from Australia and New Zealand, have arrived to support front-line divisions. As of Sunday, Aug. 16, 132,978-acre fire is currently at 10 percent containment, with 1,987 personnel,  75 engines, 47 crews, 118 heavy equipment, 26 water tenders, and four helicopters assigned.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media