Lightning-Fueled Wildfire Strikes in Methow Valley

On Wednesday evening, dry lightning storms in the Easy Pass area of the Methow Valley gave way to another wildfire. This one has been dubbed the Easy Fire. The impacted area is situated about 18 miles west of Mazama.

The North Cascade Highway - known colloquially as Highway 20 - was shut down as a result of an ongoing wildfire. (The highway has since reopened, but "unplanned pass closures" are possible, according to WDOT.)

35 personnel are actively working to manage the 300-acre blaze. It is 0% contained. The Forest Service is adamant that, "Any drones flying in the wildfire area will shut down all air operations immediately - if you fly, we can't!"

What follows was gleaned the Forest Service (Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest) Facebook page.

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Chris Furr is Methow Valley District Ranger for the Forest Service. He is quoted as lamenting adversarial conditions on the ground. "Low humidity" and "extreme heat" will likely hamper firefighting efforts.

According to Furr, "This is just a really nasty piece of ground for ground and air resources. In [these] first 24 hours we’re going to look at every option, every tool, we have to safety corral this thing but we're also bracing for the long-haul.”

But crews are doing all they can. They will "continue scouting terrain where containment lines would be effective at stopping any new growth."

"Since there are no existing roads or other natural features to limit fire spread, fire managers will use a combination of ground crews to put in containment lines and air resources to cool off hotspots with water."

"Steep terrain will likely limit the ability of air tanker pilots to safely fly the fire area even if retardant were effective in dense timber where typically, little if any retardant reaches the ground."