Brush Fire East Of Pangborn Airport Appears Contained

4:30 am: 

The brush fire east of Pangborn Airport appears to be under control. 

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday night that all roads were re-opened, and all evacuation levels were lifted. 

Deputies thanked all crews who responded and worked on the fire, which had reached 554 acres and led to significant Level 2 "Get ready" evacuation notices. 

At one-point late Tuesday, there were three helicopters, two bulldozers, two or three hand crews and eight fire departments working the fire. 

There was concern about the wind picking up again, which led to fire personnel remaining on the scene during the overnight hours into Wednesday. 

Rivercom emergency dispatch has aleo confirmed that all roads are back open.

Wenatchee Valley Fire Chief Brian Brett confirmes the fire was contained and had reached 554 acres.

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This afternoon a three-alarm brushfire broke out near Greater Wenatchee Regional Landfill. 

The fire, which started raging at 3:15 p.m. local time, required Level 2 evacuations. This indicates "significant danger" to the immediate area. Evacuations were imposed along Batterman Rd. and 4th Street SE. 

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About 15 acres were afflicted at the outset. The fire is now projected to consume 60 acres. 

"There are three [helicopters], two dozers and two or three handcrews working," says Kay McKellar, spokeswoman for the Wenatchee Valley Fire Department. McKellar has been in contact with fire chief Brian Brett; she says they last touched base at around 6 p.m. 

"It's close to containment line. The concern is the wind. They have a line circling the fire; they're concerned that if the wind picks up, the line might not hold over night. They'll be people monitoring that." 

Containment lines are necessary to ensure the fire doesn't ascend upslope. 

When KPQ spoke to Brett this afternoon, it was thought that the fire posed a threat to 20 or 30 structures. (Brett likened the blaze to the Batterman fire that occurred in July 2021. Several thousand acres were ravaged in the Batterman fire.) That estimate hasn't changed, says McKellar. 

"We currently have eight fire departments - local folks doing automatic aid to each department that may need help. And then, of course, we have Wenatchee Valley Fire." 

Also on the scene are LifeLine Ambulance, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, the East Wenatchee PD, the Chelan County Sheriff's Office and the Washington State Patrol.