Brush Fire Spreading East Of Pangborn Airport

A three-alarm fire is burning east of Pangborn Airport north of 4th Street SE and Webb Avenue. 

Right now, there are Level 2 evacuations in place along Batterman Road and 4th Street SE. 

The brush fire started at about 3:15 pm near the landfill and was consuming 15 acres early on. 

Wenatchee Valley Fire Chief Brian Brett said all their resources are being tapped out as of 4:30 pm. Two helicopters are also fighting the fire. 

The blaze has been moving east. Brett says they're trying to establish a containment line, so the fire does not travel upslope and continue. 

He said they're using existing roads and rock screens to block the fire. 

The affected area is sprawling and fairly depopulated. Fire Chief Brian Brett can't yet pinpoint the "quantity" of threatened structures; he says the fire is similar in scope and potential damage to the Batterman fire of 2021, which afflicted nearly 2500 acres. He estimates that 20 or 30 structures are at risk.  

 We are awaiting further comment from Brett, who says he is at work establishing a "more precise perimeter." 

The state Department of Natiral Resources is responding to the fire as is the Bureau of Land Management.

This is a developing story.