Black Canyon wildfire erupts overnight, reaches 6,500 acres in size

Originally posted at mynorthwest.com. Video courtesy Ken Jamz.

Evacuations are underway in Yakima County after a wildfire, dubbed the Black Canyon Fire, erupted near the towns Selah and Naches Monday night, stretching to approximately 6,500 acres in size.

The county’s emergency services director, Tony Miller, told KIRO Newsradio around 100 homes have been evacuated with certain nearby areas reaching Level 3 evacuation — which means leave immediately due to an imminent threat.

According to Miller, the responding firefighting crews are battling some tough conditions.

More local fires: Pioneer fire, burning since June 8, only 14% contained

“Warm and dry (conditions) currently,” Miller said. “We had strong winds throughout the whole night and some of that area is really steep terrain also.”

Ryan Rodruck, Communication Manager with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), echoed Miller’s sentiment, acknowledging the responding teams, including DNR, are facing an uphill battle fighting the Black Canyon Fire.

“The heat has not done us any favors. It has certainly dried out those fuels,” Rodruck said. “The lighter fuels have now substantially cured and those heavier timber fuels are also dried out as well. So with those extremely dry conditions, it’s very, very important that we exercise as much caution as we can when we’re on the landscape.”

DNR has already provided air and ground resources to local fire departments in an effort to protect nearby structures while the department works to create dozer and control lines later this afternoon. Bulldozers create dozer lines as a tactic to stop a fire’s advances by clearing away vegetation and creating an impromptu border of sorts.

The Black Canyon Fire’s cause is under investigation, but Rodruck reminded everyone to exercise caution as human-caused wildfires are common.

“The word of the day is caution right now,” Rodruck said. “We need folks to help us by respecting those burn bans where they are in place and help us keep sparks off the landscape.”

While there are evacuation orders in place for nearby structures, no structures have been lost to the fire as of this reporting.

Other local fires

The Pioneer Fire, located 31 miles northwest of Chelan in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, continues to burn, just as it has since June 8. It is currently 14% contained and has grown to more than 30,000 acres in size. The fire is expected to burn through most of October.

The Cougar Creek Fire that started in the Blue Mountains about 50 miles east of Walla Walla has expanded to 8,721 acres despite being at 23% containment. Forty-one engines, nine hand crews, six dozers and two helicopters are currently being used to fight the flames while Garfield County established a Level 2 evacuation order.

Grande Ronde Road is closed from Troy, Oregon to Highway 129 junction due to the Cougar Creek Fire.

More reporting on local fires: 8,000-acre brush fire in Yakima County causes ‘Level 2′ evacuations

In Eastern Washington, the Bridge Creek Fire has grown from 1,000 acres in size to 2,400 acres. It is located approximately 11 miles north of Keller. No percentage of containment has been reported, but the Ferry County Forest Service stated the fire is uncontained.

The Easy Fire, burning 58 miles northwest of Omak, remains 0% contained while growing to 345 acres in size. State Route 20 had to close in both directions between Granite Creek and Easy Pass trailhead earlier this week due to the fire.

The Swawilla Fire started by lightning strike July 17, has burned 5,500 acres with no containment reported. The fire is located 11 miles east of Grand Coulee.

The Davin Road Fire burned a total of 1,700 acres, but was extinguished by 8 p.m. Sunday while the Gold Creek Fire, located near Carlton, is 100% contained after burning just under 300 acres.

This is a developing story, check back for details

Contributing: Heather Bosch, KIRO Newsradio; Julia Dallas, MyNorthwest

Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.

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