Firefighters gain 1% containment on Little Giant Fire, brace for critical fire weather

OKANOGAN–WENATCHEE NATIONAL FOREST — The Little Giant Fire has reached 77,501 acres with one percent containment as of Thursday, Aug. 6.

Fire officials are scheduled to meet with the public in Chelan Friday, Aug. 7. The community meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. at Chelan Fire & Rescue Fire Station #71, 232 East Wapato Ave., Chelan. It will be live-streamed on the Lake Wenatchee Fire & Rescue Facebook. Community members are encouraged to submit questions in advance by emailing 2026.littlegiant@firenet.gov with the subject line: “Community Meeting.”

About 300 additional personnel have been assigned to the fire since Monday, with a crew of 1,655 personnel providing around the clock response in two distinct shifts, said officials. Wednesday, crews worked on structure preparation and protection across several areas including the 25-Mile State Park, Entiat River valley, and other affected communities. Though the fire threatens over 1,800 structures, zero have been lost thus far.

According to officials, strategic firing operations, control lines, favorable weather, and hard work have contributed to achieving 1 percent containment on the fire. However, a strong smoke inversion on Wednesday prevented air resources from supporting ground efforts on all edges of the fire.

Resources worked on the southwest edge of the fire to move the fire footprint hung up in some rock scree (a slope with loose, broken rock fragments) to prevent further movement. In the Minnow Ridge burn scar, where the fire’s heat is inside primary lines, dozers crawled up steep and rugged terrain to ensure routes are available for crew extraction. This safety measure will eventually allow firefighters and equipment to get closer to the fire’s edge, increasing access options for even more resources, said officials. 

Contingency control lines were expanded and strengthened following heavy equipment and crew operations along Mud Creek-Slide Ridge.

Firefighters identified several potential areas to get closer to the fire’s edge within the 25-mile area. Those areas will be assessed in the coming days for conditions and readiness for when an operational window is available. On the spot fire across the lake, ground resources and equipment were able to access the north end of Uno Peak via Coyote Ridge.

Officials expect fire activity to increase everywhere the air is clear on Thursday, as the fire will have more energy to work with. Without smoke shading the fire, sunlight warms and dries surface fuel and feeds oxygen to the fire, supporting combustion and potentially increasing flame lengths.

On the far southwest side, plentiful fuel is expected to drive fire spread south toward strong contingency lines. More resources are being added in the area due north of Entiat and due west of Chelan. The fire in that area is expected to move out of the burn scar and into continuous fuels. Crews are still focused on structure protection in that area; they’re working to connect the Slide Ridge firelines to the Twenty-Five Mile area so there is a better backup line in place if it’s needed. Lake Chelan will be patrolled by a wildland fire use module that is focusing on structure protection for many of the boat-in-only structures along the lake.

Across the lake, where the fire spotted along the north shore several days ago, crews will focus on creating a “box” around the slow-growing spot, tying in the Coyote Ridge system down to the lake, as well as the Mitchell-Gold Ridge south to the lake north of Manson. The fire is expected to push south along the drainage by lake winds. Officials said air resources will be utilized if conditions are favorable.

Officials warn that relative humidity values are at a critically low level, meaning fuels dry out rapidly and an increased likelihood of spot fires, faster spread rate, night-time behavior and great resistance to direct suppression capabilities. A 48-hour Fire Weather Watch has been issued for Friday and Saturday for the combination of breezy ridgetop winds (up to 40 miles per hour) and low relative humidity. These conditions are favorable for increased fire activity in all directions. 

The fire is located in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, about 22 miles northwest of Leavenworth, and has spread to Lake Chelan since it was started by lightning on Jul 15.

Up to date evacuation advisories can be found on Chelan County Emergency Management’s website or Facebook.

Smoke outlook and air quality levels can be monitored by locating the North Central Washington/Little Giant outlook at wildlandfiresmoke.net, or by visiting wasmoke.blogspot.com. Residents who are aging, pregnant or have pre-existing conditions are especially vulnerable to smoke, as well as young children.

The Forest Service has implemented a broad forest closure to ensure unsafe areas are closed off to the public in the case of rapidly changing conditions. The broad closure also addresses the multiple access points to the forest. Updated closures can be found on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest website.

Updates for the Little Giant Fire can be found Little Giant Fire Information 2026 Facebook page and by visiting inciweb.wildfire.gov. Public information is also available via hotline, 509-776-6953, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., or by emailing 2026.littlegiant@firenet.gov.

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