Firefighters labor over the holiday weekend to hold wildfire in check
There is public access to some areas of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, as containment of the Little Giant Fire has improved, providing more areas for hunting and other recreational opportunities.
Road and trail closures have been removed in the lower Entiat drainage, Navarre Coulee, and the Chumstick area. The Lake Chelan north shore Closure has been fully lifted as well.
Firefighters have taken advantage of favorable weather conditions to prepare for anticipated warmer temperatures and gusty winds mid-week.
Crews are preparing for a strategic burnout operation near Stormy Mountain to strengthen containment along the eastern flank of the Little Giant Fire.
Leaving a pocket of unburned fuel between firefighters and the main fire is one of the most hazardous situations in wildland firefighting. If the main fire flares up, this intermediate fuel can rapidly ignite and create an intense wall of heat.
By intentionally burning out areas of still unburned grass, brush and timber, under controlled conditions, crews will eliminate the fuel that could otherwise feed sudden fire growth when warmer, drier weather returns later this week. This proactive step is crucial to the fire's long-term containment and reduces the risk of future spot fires.
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The Jackson Hotshots directly attacked the fire above Twin Lakes over the Labor Day weekend, where they expect to tie the fire perimeter into natural rock features. Meanwhile, hazard tree removal continues in the Chiwawa River drainage, and crews are improving access to the fire within the Cougar Creek Fire scar by clearing roads adjacent to Tyee Ridge Road.
Little Giant InciWeb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/waowf-little-giant-fire
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