Okanogan Complex Fire Update

Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team - Todd Pechota, Incident Commander 

Information Center:  509-850-0083

Hours of operation: 7 am – 9 pm

Email: okanogancomplexfire@gmail.com  

,
August 28, 2015

9:00 am

Conditions yesterday resulted in growth of the fire in five priority areas, including the four corners of the fire.  On the southeast corner of the Tunk Block, the fire grew along Highway 155 near the community of Disautel.  The northeast corner of the Tunk Fire, west of the Aeneas Valley flared up in an area between fuels breaks. There was also increased fire activity in the Crawfish Lake area on the eastern side of the Tunk Block. The southwestern corner of the Lime Belt Fire near Bobcat Mountain saw growth towards the Tripod Fire scar. There was also increased activity on the northwestern corner of the Lime Belt Fire in the Sinlahekin Valley.

The clearer skies yesterday enabled the use of retardant tankers to help check the spread of fires in those priority areas. Firefighters have been working to herd the fire away from populated areas and structure protection crews have been working late into the night to safeguard homes.  

Overcast skies, cooler temperatures, and higher humidity are expected to help moderate fire behavior on the Okanogan Complex today and crews will take advantage of those conditions to prepare for an expected increase in wind over the next few days. 

The Twisp River and Nine Mile Fires are largely contained, with patrolling and mop up continuing. Because of the increase in acreage, the percentage of containment has dropped for the complex overall.

The Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team is wrapping up its time on the Okanogan Complex and the California Incident Management Team 5 will assume management of the fire on Saturday.

Evacuations and Closures: The public is encouraged to contact the Okanogan Emergency Operations Center to learn how to register for automated phone messages in the event of evacuation notices being issued for particular neighborhoods. Contact emergency staff at 509-422-7348 or the Colville Tribal Emergency Management Center at 507-634-2105.

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Okanogan.County.Emergency.Management

                    https://www.facebook.com/cctemergencyservices

Media Briefings:  Media briefings are held at 11 am daily at Okanogan County Fairgrounds.

Okanogan Complex Fire Statistics:   

Location:  Eleven miles northwest of Omak, WA                   Start Date: August 14, 2015

Complex Size:  302,224 acres                                                 Complex Percent Contained: 12%

Twisp River: 11,831 acres, 85% containment                           

        Tunk Block: 158,892 acres, 10%                                                                                           

        Lime Belt/Blue Lake and Beaver Lake: 126,781 acres, 15%

        Nine Mile: 4,720 acres, 95%, in patrol status.

Total Personnel: 1,831
Resources Include: 37 crews, 7 helicopters, 173 engines, 1 ambulance, 38 dozers, 41 water tenders, 1 skidder.

Information Sources:

Website: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4534/

Blog: http://okanogancomplex.blogspot.com/

Twitter: #OkanoganComplex

Photos:  http://s611.photobucket.com/user/okanogancomplexfire/library/Okanogan%20complex%20all

The Rocky Mountain IMT has a Facebook page dedicated to “Thank You’s to the firefighters working on the fire line. Visit the page at https://www.facebook.com/RockyMtn.Type1.IMT.PIOs

Spanish Language Information: (509) 422-2422