New Evacuations Issued For Entiat Valley As Little Giant Fire Remains At 0% Containment

A wildfire on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest has prompted new evacuations for several areas in rural Chelan County.

The Little Giant Fire was sparked by lighting on July 15 and has since grown to a current estimated size of 28,493 acres with 0% containment.

The blaze is burning about 30 miles northwest of Leavenworth, where it's already placed hundreds of residents on high alert, including a Level 3 Evacuation Notice which remains in effect for the Trinity area.

Late Thursday, officials with Chelan County Emergency Management issued further evacuations for Entiat River Road (Forest Service Road 5100) due to the fire, including a Level 3 notice from the Entiat Sno Park to Cottonwood (Forest Service Roads 5100-124), as well as the Myrtle Lake area.

A Level 2 notice is also now in place from the Entiat Sno Park to Stormy Creek Road (Forest Service Road 5395), while a Level 1 Fire Advisory is in effect from Stormy Creek Road (Forest Service Road 5395) to Potato Creek Road (Forest Service Road 5380).

Officials with California Interagency Incident Management Team 2 say the blaze saw limited activity and growth on Thursday due to heavy smoke over the fire zone.

Helicopters have been performing water drops on the fire's northeastern flanks this week in an effort to slow the flames from spreading into the Three Creeks and Raging Creek areas towards the Entiat River.

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The blaze is reportedly approaching the footprint of the 2015 Wolverine Fire in the these areas, and crews are also perpetually engaged in tracking and attempting to halt the fire's progress along Chiwawa Ridge.

Structure protection efforts remain active in the Big Meadow, North Shore, and Pole Creek vicinities, and firefighters have also utilized the overnight hours to position vital equipment and anchor containment lines when possible.

A spot fire that was ignited by the blaze to the northwest of Plain near Forest Road 6601 and Pobst Canyon Road was quickly stamped out on Wednesday night with the assistance of local fire agencies.

Fire managers are primarily concerned with the fire's eastern edges, where very active behavior has been seen this week and could become extreme due to gusty winds under a Red Flag Warning that's been forecasted for Saturday.

U.S. Forest Service officials have issued temporary emergency closures for numerous roads, trails, and recreational sites within the Wenatchee River and Entiat Ranger Districts due to the fire.

Smoke impacts from the blaze have occurred daily in a number of communities to its east, including in the Entiat and Wenatchee Valleys.

Over 500 structures are currently being threatened by the blaze but, to this point, none have been damaged or destroyed.