Major Resources Being Used on 4 Okanogan Fires Burning Within Miles of Each Other

One of the most closely watched areas for wildfires in North Central Washington is a portion of Okanogan County where four fires are burning within a few miles of each other.

Together, they cover more than 130,000 acres near the Methow Valley and the town of Concunully.

Greg Smith is part of the team from California that's managing the fires, and he says almost 900 people are on the scene daily.

"With the values at risk to the communities, the recreation areas and the number of fires going on, this remains a Type 1 incident," said Smith. "It's getting a lot of attention."

Smith says his team is currently most concerned about the Muckamuck Fire that's been threatening to spread into Concunully.

The other fires being handled by the California team are the Cedar Creek, Cub Creek 2 and Delancy fires which are all near the Methow Valley and the Towns of Winthrop and Twisp. Mazama is also close to the Cedar Creek Fire, and has been under some evacuation notices.

Smith says many of the biggest firefighting groups, identified as Type 1 and Type 2 teams, are currently working in the Northwest and Washington.

"The Pacific Northwest region is the number one active region in the country right now," Smith said. "That doesn't mean other areas aren't active. It just means that there's a lot more going on up here. And so resources are stretched out."

Many of the fires are also being battled from the air with the use of planes and helicopters that typically scoop up water from near by rivers and dump it onto areas that are burning.