Growth slows, containment increases on Second Creek Fire

LEAVENWORTH – The Second Creek Fire slowed its growth by the weekend, with firefighters making significant progress toward containment of the 80-acre fire that started over the Memorial Day holiday.

According to Washington Department of Natural Resources (WA DNR) Wildfire Communications Manager Ryan Rodruck, the fire remained at 80 acres over the weekend, reaching 76 percent containment by Monday, June 2. Crews are continuing to secure containment lines and conduct mop-up activities, or extinguishing burning material on a fire after it’s been controlled. Patrol status had yet to be reached by the morning of June 2, but Rodruck anticipated it could reach it as early as the end of the day.

The human-caused fire started on private property before moving onto U.S. Forest Service land, according to Chelan County Fire District 3 (CCDFD 3) Deputy Chief Mike Smith. It is located on Second Creek Road up Merry Canyon, an offshoot of Chumstick Highway. The cause is still under investigation by the WA DNR.

Multiple resources were deployed to the fire after initial response from Chelan County Fire District #3 on May 26. Ground and air resources were on scene from CCFD 3, 6 and 9, U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and WA DNR by the end of the first day. By May 27, incident management was shifted to USFS and WA DNR. 

The Level 1 Fire Advisory for the surrounding area was dropped as of 4 p.m. on May 30 by Chelan County Emergency Management. 

A burn ban is in effect for Chelan County, which typically stays in place until October 1. Details about restrictions can be found at Chelan County’s website.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media