Pomas Fire Sees Minimal Growth, Still 3 Miles From Holden Village

The Pomas Fire in Northern Chelan County has seen minimal growth over the past week.

The blaze, which is now listed at 3,521 acres, is burning in dry grass, shrubs, and dead and down timber within the footprint of the 2015 Wolverine Fire about 36 miles northwest of Entiat.

The fire was sparked by a lightning strike that smoldered for several weeks before it was first reported on June 13.

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Officials with Complex Incident Management Northwest Team 12 report that 629 firefighters are currently assigned to the fire, but they are all facing significant challenges in directly attacking it due to a lack of road access combined with its location in steep, austere terrain.

Helicopter crews were active fighting the fire on Thursday, dropping approximately 70,000 gallons of water on the blaze's northern and western flanks, while a separate helicopter mission installed a Remote Automatic Weather Station at Entiat Meadow to allow for real-time updates on wind speeds and direction, air temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, and fuel moisture in the area.

The Community of Holden Village, which is currently under a Level 1 Fire Advisory and remains only three miles from the blaze, saw the installation of an emergency sprinkler system at its Rio Tinto Mine water treatment plant on Thursday, as crews in the area also continued their work to fell hazardous trees and establish critical points of protection for its roughly-300 inhabitants.

Work to remove potential fire fuels along Chikamin and Entiat Roads is scheduled to continue today, and firefighters are also constructing a secondary fire line along Forest Service Roads 5900 and 6210, as well as clearing ditches, and finishing work on other hand and dozer lines in the area.

There are currently 16 engines, 18 water tenders, 3 dozers, and 8 helicopters working the blaze, which has closed a portion of the Glacier Peak Wilderness area on the Entiat River Ranger District, as well as the Chiwawa River drainage, and numerous campgrounds, roads, and trails.

Smoke impacts from the fire on surrounding communities have been minimal in recent days, but officials say smoke has been widely visible on occasion from places like Chelan, Entiat, and Winthrop.

Aside from the current advisory for Holden Village, which does not include the communities of Lucerne or Moore, no evacuation notices have been issued and no structures have been damaged or destroyed.