UPDATE 6am

A new fire is reported burning along SR 28 and Palisades Road with LEVEL 3 evacuations have  been ordered along the first 6 miles of Palisades Road.  Over concerns from the Sutherland Fire, Grant County Sheriff's Office has issued precautionary LEVEL 1 evacuation notices for Trinidad to Road N-NW  and Baird Springs Rd east from Crescent Bar Rd.

Meanwhile, the acreage estimates on both the Spartan fire burning near Malaga and the Sutherland Canyon Fire near Rock Island grade and Palisades Road increased Tuesday.  The Spartan fire is listed at jst over 6,800 acres and the Sutherland Canyon is now up to 5,100 acres according to information officer Victor Steblina.  Today, if winds cooperate,  firefighters will try to conduct a burnout operation on the Spartan fire in the Kingsbury Road and Jumpoff Ridge area.  Steblina says if the burnout operations are successful, it will produce significant smoke in the Wenatchee Valley today.  About 80 structures are threatened under Level 2 evacuation notices are in place for Colockum, Kingsbury, Moses Carr, Ingersoll, and Tarpiscan Roads but there have been no reports of any structure damage.  The Malaga-Alcoa Highway is still closed to all but local traffic near milepost 8 at the Alcoa plant.

Level 1 evacuations are in place for the Sutherland Canyon Fire from above milepost 6 along the Palisade Road corridor. There are approximately 24 structures threatened. There have been no reported loss or damages to structures on either fire.

 

 

UPDATE 2:30pm

Three fires have merged and now total some 4,500 acres burning on the Spartan Fire, 5 miles south of Wenatchee near the Malaga-Alcoa Highway.  The fire is considered 10% contained, burning in grass and brushy fuels.  160 personnel are on the fire Tuesday.   About 80 structures are threatened under Level 2 evacuation notices are in place for Colockum, Kingsbury, Moses Carr, Ingersoll, and Tarpiscan Roads but there have been no reports of any structure damage. The Highway is closed to all but local traffic near milepost 8 at the Alcoa plant. A new fire was reported above Bainard Road in the Malaga area this afternoon but no details have emerged.   The fires were likely caused by lightning strikes on Monday and stoked by windy conditions.  More details will be available after the evening briefing tonight.

The separate grass and brush fires burning in Bureau of Land Management protected lands in the Palisades and Rock Island grade have grown to a combined size estimated at 4-thousand acres according to Douglas County Sheriff Harvey Gjesdal.  A crew of 75 firefighters from BLM and private contractors are working on the Sutherland Canyon fire with support from rotary and fixed wing aircraft.  The fire is burning in steep, rugged terrain. The Sutherland Canyon fire is at 10% containment.  Level 1 evacuations are in place for the Sutherland Canyon Fire from the Columbia River to milepost 10 along the Palisade Road corridor. There are approximately 24 structures threatened. There have been no reported loss or damages to structures on either fire.

 

UPDATE 9am

Even though the lightening sparked Spartan fire swelled to 4,400 acres Monday night, the fire did not grow beyond where firefighters were managing it's spread. Information officer Holly Krake says the fire remained  west of the Malaga-Alcoa Highway and north of Colockum Road.  The fire grew quickly, driven by 20+ mph winds and today's forecast of winds to 15mph will be a factor.   Krake says a Type 3 Incident Management Team assumed control of blaze as of this morning which will mean more manpower and resources are available.

After the morning briefing with the Type 3 team,  Krake was live on NewsRadio 560KPQ and gave this update on the Spartan Fire.....

The fire is considered 10% contained, burning in grass and brushy fuels.  160 personnel are on the fire Tuesday.   About 80 structures are threatened under Level 2 evacuation notices are in place for Colockum, Kingsbury, Moses Carr, Ingersoll, and Tarpiscan Roads. The Highway is closed to all but local traffic near milepost 8 at the Alcoa plant. The fires were caused by lightning strikes on Monday and stoked by windy conditions.

Five separate grass and brush fires burning 8 miles SE of Wenatchee in the Palisades and Rock Island grade in Douglas County have been dubbed the Sutherland Canyon Fire and are now a combined 3-thousand acres. A crew of 75 firefighters constructed containment lines overnight and continue to fight the fires in steep, rugged terrain. The Sutherland Canyon fire is at 10% containment and while the cause is unknown, lightening did track through the area Monday. Level 1 evacuation notices were issued to about 25 homes in the area as of Monday evening.

 

Original Story

What started as separate grass fires have now combined into a single fire west of the Malaga-Alcoa Highway and north of Colockum Road. The Spartan Fire had reached 4,400 acres by last evening according to InciWeb and prompted level 2 evacuation notices for residents of Colockum Rd., Kingsbury, Moses Carr Rd., Ingersol Rd., and Tarpiscan Rd. Fire information officer Holly Krake said Monday night the fire was burning in grass and brushy fuels. About 100 personnel were using existing roads, builder dozer lines, water drops and natural features to try and limit the fire's spread. The Highway is closed to all but local traffic near milepost 9. The fires were caused by lightning strikes and stoked by windy conditions.

Also, a lightning strike six miles north of Palisades started at least five fires in the area Monday afternoon. Douglas County Sheriff Harvey Gjesdal says the terrain has made access to the area nearly impossible to access and the wind has made fighting the fires difficult. Level 1 evacuation notices have been issued to about 25 homes in the area. The fire is burning between mileposts 4 and 8 on Palisades Road. As of midnight there were no reports of any injuries or property damage.

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Palisades Road fire

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