Highway 97A shut down as WVFD battles roadside fire overnight near Entiat

WENATCHEE — On July 21 just after midnight, first responders were summoned to a fire along Highway 97A, a little under 9 miles south of Entiat. Just before Turtle Lane intersects with the highway, a blaze caught directly alongside the road, threatening traffic and homes.

The Wenatchee Valley Fire Department (WVFD) and Chelan County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) responded to a call about roughly an acre that had caught fire, although the fire eventually burned larger than that. Firefighters dug lines by hand, used a dozer, and were able to successfully prevent any homes in the area from burning, according to Deputy Chief Andy Davidson of the WVFD.

“We have a track record of protecting homes that we’re very proud of,” Davidson said by phone about 7 hours after the blaze was cleaned up. “We had to do a lot of work right beside the road, but about an hour was spent fighting the fire, then the rest of our time cleaning it all up until about 3 a.m.,” he said. “You want to make sure that it’s all the way out, so that it doesn’t come back later in the day and fire up again.”

Travelers unfortunate enough to be out at such a late hour were told that the highway was closed due to the danger of the fire crossing the road. Deputy Wyatt Walker of the CCSO was on scene advising motorists that they could either wait until crews were done and then keep motoring south along 97A, or they could drive all the way back through Chelan and over the Beebe Bridge to travel back toward Wenatchee along the east side of the Columbia River.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media