Homes destroyed in wind whipped wildfire near Omak; weather concerns firefighters on Pomas Fire
- Nic Scott
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Homes have been destroyed, and outbuildings lost in a wind whipped wildfire burning north of Omak.
Okanogan County Emergency Management reported the fire pushed by 50 mile an hour wind burned in fingers across as much as 500 acres. Firefighters worked into Tuesday morning putting out hot spots. Wind died down a bit overnight but that the fire remained active.
A get out now evacuation advisory had been issued late Monday for residents along Greenacres Road and Robinson canyon Road, where homes were lost. Emergency Management says dozens of additional homes are threatened.
Firefighters from Okanogan, Chelan and Douglas Counties have been joined by aircraft dropping water and retardant. Power was disrupted for a time as electrical poles were damaged in the fire. Orchards in the area have also been impacted.
The Greenacres Fire has caused Greenacres Road, Bide-A-Wee Road, Robinson Canyon Road, and Omak Airport Road to be closed.
An Evacuation Center was set up at the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Omak and a Red Cross Shelter is open at Omak High School.
No injuries have been reported.
A Type 3 Incident Management Team will take control of the fire on Tuesday.
For more information go to, Okanogan County Emergency Management's, active incident web page at okanogancounty.org.
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The effort Tuesday is focused on keeping the nagging, slow burning Pomas wildland fire from the south shore of Lake Chelan, and particularly from Holden Village.
"The wind, the weather, the red flag warning," was the concern shared Monday by Heather Applehof, Public Informatioin Officer at the Entiat fire camp. "Our resources are available to respond to any new (fire) starts, so we can get on them quickly especially under these conditions where things could get out of hand and spread very rapidly."
Direct fire protection on the north side of the fire, outside of Holden Village, is planned.
"We found a really great landing spot for a helicopter, so we can insert some personnel on that north end to take a look and see, would it be safe enough to insert some firefighters direct on the north line," Applehof added. "It will be tricky because we still have some wind concerns."
Escorted by the U.S. Forest Service and Chelan County Emergency Management, Chelan County Commissioner Brad Hawkins took a trip to Holden Village and shared an account of his tour:
“Holden Village is a unique and special place, and I’m grateful to have made the trip alongside the Forest Service, Emergency Management and Incident Command staff. I saw first-hand why nearly 250 people-a-week enjoy being up at the village. It’s beautiful but extremely remote, which definitely creates special considerations during wildfires, like the Pomas Fire.
“During our travels up the winding road to Holden Village, our delegation observed a DC-10 deployed from Moses Lake drop fire retardant along the ridgeline to keep the Pomas Fire on the Entiat side of the mountains. My understanding was that this drop was just one of many successful air attacks deployed that day. I’m thankful for this work and the firefighters on the ground. I hope these efforts can hold the fire during this week’s continued hot and windy conditions.
“The staff of Holden Village has made significant improvements to its plans since the community’s evacuation during the 2015 Wolverine Fire. It was helpful to talk through specific steps with them when they welcomed us Friday. I’m grateful for the attention they are showing to this threat and also to the Forest Service and Emergency Management teams for the kindness and professionalism they extended to the community.”
In addition to the aerial firefight above Holden Village, firefighting crews aboard helicopters are stationed at Lake Wenatchee.
