Thunderstorms Ignite a Dozen New Wildfires On Okanogan-Wenatchee Nat’l Forest

A round of weekend thunderstorms over the Central Cascades has ignited no fewer than a dozen new wildfires on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.

The U.S. Forest Service says half of the new starts are on the Wenatchee River Ranger District, including:

• The Mac Creek Fire has burned almost 3 acres near Icicle Ridge, approximately seven miles west of Leavenworth and is currently being worked by a crew of eight smokejumpers.
• The Dirty Face Fire has torched about 7 acres in steep and austere terrain on Dirty Face Mountain, roughly 18 miles northwest of Leavenworth. The blaze is currently staffed with 25 personnel and officials say there are plans to perform helicopter water drops on the fire today.
• The Augusta Fire is currently listed at around a half-an-acre and is burning in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness about seven miles northwest of Leavenworth where smokejumpers are actively working the flames.
• The Boggy Fire is also burning in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness about 10 miles northwest of Leavenworth, and is also being staffed by a crew of smokejumpers who will work to keep it from growing from its current size of less than a half-an-acre today.
• Nearby, the Windy Pass Fire has blackened two acres in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness about 11 miles west of Leavenworth. The blaze is also being worked by smokejumpers.
• Also burning in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness is the Bobs Fire, which is currently listed at less than a half-an-acre approximately 19 miles west of Leavenworth. Officials say the blaze is burning in rocky area near the Cascade Crest and its currently being monitored for increased activity but no direct attacks have yet been made.

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There are also a trio of new wildfires burning on the Methow Valley Ranger District, including:

• The Rock Pass Fire is burning in the Pasayten Wilderness Area on Rock Pass about 10 miles northwest of Harts Pass and 37 miles northwest of Winthrop. The blaze has blackened roughly one-tenth of an acre and a team of smokejumpers are actively working the fire..
• The Gilbert Mountain Fire is also about a tenth-of-an-acre in size and is burning just adjacent to an old forest fire scar about 23 miles northwest of Twisp.
• Fire crews are also monitoring the Pasayten Peak Fire, which is displaying evidence of a new burn scar but currently has no visible smoke.

Three fires are also burning on the Cle Elum Ranger District, including:

• The Koppin Fire has scorched about a tenth-of-an-acre just southwest of DeRoux Campground, approximately 17 miles north of Cle Elum, where crews worked Sunday to officially put the fire out. The blaze continues to be monitored for any potential flare ups.
• The Beverly Creek Fire is just a single tree which is smoldering in remote and inaccessible terrain with sparse available fuels roughly 18 miles north of Cle Elum near the head of Beverly Creek. Fire personnel are also monitoring this fire closely.
• The Waptus Lake Fire is listed at a tenth-of-an-acre and is burning in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness about 20 miles northwest of Cle Elum. Crews are currently working to put the blaze out after having entered the area via aircraft on Sunday.

Forest officials say the official cause of each blaze has yet to be determined, but all of them were likely sparked by lightning associated with the storm activity.