Washington: Mills Canyon Fire near Entiat

(UPDATED at 8:10 a.m. PDT, July 14, 2014)

Mills Canyon Fire
Burnout on Highway 97A, July 11, Mills Canyon Fire, InciWeb photo

The spread of the Mills Canyon Fire at Entiat, Washington has slowed considerably. The Incident Management Team reports that it has now burned 22,571 acres and is 25 percent contained. For Monday, the team expects:

…The east and north flanks are expected to have little or no fire spread and will continue in patrol status. There will be some creeping fire along the west and southwest flanks with some isolated torching. Overall, only minor perimeter growth is expected. Evening thunderstorms and associated winds will test existing contained fire edges and effects of storms will be closely monitored.

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(UPDATED at 9:50 a.m. PDT, July 13, 2014)

Map Mills Canyon Fire
Map of the Mills Canyon Fire. The red line was the perimeter at 10 p.m. PDT, July 12, 2014. The yellow line was the perimeter about 24 hours earlier.

The Mills Canyon Fire at Entiat, Washington continued to spread on the west side Saturday, but more slowly than in previous days. The Washington Interagency Incident Management Team #2, which distributes few updates, said Saturday morning the fire had burned 21,823 acres. In their InciWeb report the team called it 22 and 25 percent contained in two different places . On Friday crews completed a burnout operation around homes on the east side of the fire that required the closure of Highway 97A. The eastern end of Swakane Canyon was secured with handline, but the fire spotted across Rattlesnake Road further to the west. Hotshot crews constructed containment lines in that area assisted by 60,000 gallons of retardant from a DC-10 and other air tankers. The Pacific Northwest Incident Management Team 3, lead by Incident Commander Ed Lewis, will assume command of the fire at 6 a.m. Sunday.

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(UPDATED at 6:55 a.m. PDT, July 12, 2014)

Map Mills Canyon Fire
Map Mills Canyon Fire 11 p.m. PDT, July 11, 2014.

The map of the Mills Canyon Fire above shows that the fire has grown to 21,000 acres. Over the last 24 hours it has been most active on the northwest and west sides, continuing to spread along the south side of Entiat River Road. **** (UPDATED at 9 p.m. PDT, July 11, 2014)

Map of Mills Canyon Fire, July 11, 2014
Map of Mills Canyon Fire, issued July 11, 2014, current as of 2 p.m., July 10, 2014. Each square is about 1 mile by 1 mile.

The Washington Interagency Incident Management Team #2 is not making many current maps available of the Mills Canyon Fire at Entiat, Washington, even to their own personnel. We were able to scrounge up the map above that was issued July 11, but it contains fire perimeter data from 2 p.m. July 10. The Team is still saying the fire has burned 18,065 acres and they are calling it 19 percent contained. Highway 97A has reopened.

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(UPDATED at noon, July 11, 2014)

Map Mills Canyon Fire
Map of the Mills Canyon Fire at 10 p.m. PDT, July 10, 2014. Provided by the Washington State Interagency Incident Management Team #2.

The Washington Interagency Incident Management Team #2 is not wasting time by providing information or fire maps to the public. The map above of the Mills Canyon Fire is the best we could find. It shows there was major growth on the south side. The size has not been updated since Thursday afternoon when they announced it had burned 18,065 acres. On Friday the fire team is calling it 19 percent contained.

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(UPDATED at 7:17 p.m. PDT, July 10, 2014)

Map of the Mills Canyon Fire
Map of the Mills Canyon Fire at 8:15 p.m. PDT, July 9, 2014

The Mills Canyon fire at Entiat, Washington has spread to 18,065 acres and firefighters are reporting there is no containment. It is being fought by 450 personnel led by Washington Interagency Incident Management Team 2. Thursday afternoon fire officials released their first map, seen above. It was current as of Wednesday evening. **** (UPDATED at 1:05 PDT p.m., July 10, 2014) Officials at the Mills Canyon Fire at Entiat, Washington reported just before noon on Thursday that the fire has burned 10,100 acres.

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(Originally published at 8:47 a.m. PDT, July 10, 2014)

Map Mills Canyon Fire
Map showing the approximate location of the Mills Canyon Fire at 11 p.m. PDT, July 9, 2014 (Click to enlarge)

The Mills Canyon Fire has caused evacuations of about 200 homes in the Entiat area of Washington, between Wenatchee and Chelan. The fire started July 8 from a structure fire on the west side of the Columbia River near Entiat and Orondo, according to KIRO. Strong winds on Wednesday pushed the east side of the fire to the river, and to Spencer Canyon to the south. Thursday morning Highway 97A was closed at times from Entiat River Road south to Wenatchee. Using data from a heat-sensing satellite, we estimate that as of 11 p.m. PDT July 9 the fire had burned at least 10,000 acres. The map above shows the general location of the Mills Canyon Fire. Wednesday afternoon the weather station at Entiat recorded a temperature of 91 degrees, a relative humidity of 15 percent, with a west wind of 21 gusting to 30, increasing by 9 p.m. to 38 mph gusting to 42. The forecast for Entiat for Thursday is for 100 degrees, a relative humidity of 10 percent, and a wind out of the north at 2 to 5 mph.

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Author: Bill Gabbert

After working full time in wildland fire for 33 years, he continues to learn, and strives to be a Student of Fire.

4 thoughts on “Washington: Mills Canyon Fire near Entiat”

    1. This Fire was in North Central Washington, right on the west bank of the Columbia River, just south of the Okanogan and Methow river valleys. North of Wenatchee, south of Brewster/Pateros/Omak. It was really the first large fire in what turned into a very busy July/August.

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