
LEVEL 2 Evacuation Orders to Require Visitors Leave Stehekin on Thursday
Visitors to Stehekin will be required to leave Stehekin at the head of Lake Chelan as a result of the growing Pioneer Fire as of Thursday, July 25th at 8am.
The Pioneer Fire has grown to almost 31,000 acres since June 8th.
Chelan County Emergency Management has issued a Level 2 evacuation notice for the community of Stehekin, from Hazard Creek through the Stehekin Valley, including the Stehekin landing and west to High Bridge.
Under the Level 2 evacuation notice, no tourism-related visitors will be ferried into Stehekin. Chelan County Emergency Management is also requiring all tourism-related visitors including all campers and hikers to leave Stehekin on Thursday, July 25th
Emergency Management and Chelan County Sheriff’s Deputies will be staged in Stehekin to ensure visitors leave Stehekin because of the firefighting efforts.
The boat schedule and times for people to be at the landing on Thursday will be posted to the Emergency Management Facebook page and its Active Emergencies webpage as soon as they are available.
A public Information Officer (PIO) is stationed in Stehekin and is available to answer questions. PIOs visit local businesses daily to provide current updates. A PIO can provide visitors with information to assist with their plans to leave the area.
Residents can find fire information on the fire information board at the Stehekin landing.
Property owners and residents are also advised to prepare for the possibility of a LEVEL 3 (Get Out Now) order should that be necessary.
Since parking is extremely limited at the landing and space is needed for fire equipment and emergency personnel, people are advised to use the recommended parking area at the airfield that has been established for this evacuation. Shuttle buses will be running along Stehekin Valley Road to provide transport to the landing. Areas of Refuge, with shuttle service, have also been established at the Stehekin Ranch, airfield, Buckner Orchard and Stehekin bakery. More evacuation route information here
More information about the fire and firefighting efforts is at https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/wases-pioneer
Monitor the Chelan County Emergency Incidents Map for evacuation levels:
EM Active Emergencies webpage: https://www.co.chelan.wa.us/emergency-management/pages/active-emergencies