Two Major Wildfires in Okanogan County Could be Helped by Weekend Rain

There could be relief on the way for the large fires that have been burning near the Methow Valley in Okanogan County for the last couple of weeks.

Ron Miller with the National Weather Service says there could be some needed rainfall by Saturday night.

There's a good chance that we could see, not just a shower, not just a light sprinkle or something like that, but some actual heavy down pour type rain," said Miller. "Whether it falls on just the right place in the fire is too early to forecast."

Miller says the rain will be wet enough so that lightning strikes won't likely start any new fires.

The Cedar Creek and Cub Creek fires are still burning more than 80,000 acres between them, and have left the Methow Valley with especially poor air quality.

Some progress is being made in slowing their spread. As of Thursday morning, the Cub Creek fire is 18% percent contained, while the Cedar Creek fire is 13% contained.

But there still a number of Level 2 (Get Ready) and Level 3 (Leave Now) evacuation notices in place for some local Methow Valley residents near the fires.

As of Thursday morning, several spots in and around the valley had the worst air quality in the state, registering as "very unhealthy" or "hazardous" on the Washington Smoke Blog.

Meanwhile, State Highway 20 has been closed for more almost three weeks near the town of Mazama because the Cedar Creek fire reaches the roadway, where it's being battled by crews.

Okanogan County Emergency Management Director Maurice Goodall says they're searching for ways to open the highway back-up.

"How do we keep a pilot car going through," said Goodall. "But we still have fire apparatus on the roadway. They're still clearing debris off the roadway from one side of the roadway to the other, things like that."

Goodall doesn't know when Highway 20 will reopen. He also has a long range view on how any upcoming rain will help with the fires.

"It's going to take a lot," Goodall said. "This rain is not going to put these fires out. It's going to slow things down, and it's going to help out."