Lucerne, Holden Village Brace As Little Giant Fire Tracks North, Now 127,000+ Acres & 5% Contained

Several communities along the southern shores of Lake Chelan are now preparing for the potential arrival of an unwelcome guest.

The Little Giant Fire has been charring the landscape of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in Chelan County since July 15, when it was sparked by a lightning strike.

Since then, the blaze has grown to a currently-estimated size of 127,488 acres with 5% containment as of Wednesday (Aug. 12) morning.

As the fire pushes to the north and northwest, wildland firefighters are now working on strategies for structure protection in and around the communities of Holden Village and Lucerne, as well as Domke Lake.

Public information officer Heather Appelhof with Pacific Northwest Incident Management Team 12 tells KPQ News the move is strictly precautionary at this point, since the fire is still roughly seven miles from Domke Lake and about eight miles to the south of both Lucerne and Holden Village.

Appelhof also says a spot fire on the north side of Lake Chelan that sparked in gusty winds on Aug. 1 has not shown any signs of significant growth over the past few days and remains at roughly 500 acres.

On Tuesday, crews completed their construction of a containment line along Coyote and Mitchell-Gold Ridges, while continuing efforts to forge additional lines elsewhere, including from the south side of Twenty-Five Mile State Park north to Grouse Mountain and Junior Point.

Rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft also remained active making aerial water drops in the Chiwawa River Drainage in the vicinity of Tyee Creek, which has seen a major increase in fire volatility in recent days.

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Operations personnel are reminding recreationists to stick to dry land along Lake Wenatchee, where aerial suppression missions had to be suspended on Monday due to numerous watercraft and windsurfers which presented an ongoing hazard throughout the day.

Over 2,000 structures remain threatened by blaze, and 26 have already been razed by the flames, including two primary residences and three cabins in the Entiat Valley, as evacuation notices continue to be in effect for thousands of residents.

Smoke impacts from the fire are ongoing for nearby communities, with some seeing intermittent relief in recent days, while others continue being inundated with resulting poor air quality.

Fire managers are concerned about a more-than-fair chance of thunderstorms within and near to the Central Cascade Mountains this evening, which are likely to bring elevated winds, unstable air, and the potential for lightning that could spark new wildfires.

There are currently 2,122 personnel assigned to the fire, along with multiple apparatus, including 58 engines, 28 water tenders, and five helicopters.

One firefighter sustained injuries while battling the flames but no other injuries or fatalities have been attributed to the fire.