Little Giant Fire grows to 111,429 acres, remains 2% contained

LEAVENWORTH — The Little Giant Fire grew to 111,429 acres by Sunday morning and remained 2% contained after significant fire activity pushed south through the Entiat River Valley, according to the incident management team.

The lightning-caused fire, which started July 15 about 22 miles northwest of Leavenworth, is threatening 1,987 structures. Officials reported two injuries, while the number of structures destroyed remained under assessment Sunday. A total of 1,734 personnel were assigned to the incident.

Fire growth was significant Saturday along the southern edge of the fire in the Entiat River Valley, where flames moved south to Tyee Creek late in the day and into the evening. Local fire districts and incident resources were reinforced by structure protection personnel, including three Washington strike teams.

Three smoke columns developed along the southern edge of the fire, with one reaching an estimated altitude of 20,000 feet. Fire activity moderated overnight in the Entiat Valley but increased north of the Twenty-Five Mile area, where crews were working with engines, hotshot crews, dozers and other equipment Sunday.

Along the eastern side of the fire near Lake Chelan, crews continued building dozer line west toward Grouse Mountain from an area north of Snowberry Bowl. Near Twenty-Five Mile State Park, firefighters were constructing containment lines using dozers and hand crews, with defensive firing available if needed. Aircraft dropped water Saturday on a spot fire on the north side of Lake Chelan, where officials reported minimal heat and growth.

On the northern side, the fire continued burning vegetation and moving into ridgelines near Pugh Ridge. The fire remained south of Pomas Pass on its northeast side and was burning east of Rampart Mountain in the Devils Smoke Stack area. The Chiwawa Ridgeline continued to serve as a natural boundary, although fire remained active in stands of timber across the ridge.

North of Fish Lake, crews were using direct suppression tactics along Big Meadow Creek 6300 Road and working to contain the fire west of the Chiwawa River near Brush Creek.

A public information map dated Sunday shows the fire perimeter extending across a large section of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest between the Lake Wenatchee area and Lake Chelan, with forest closures surrounding portions of the fire area. The map's acreage figure of 97,539 acres was based on mapping from late Aug. 7 and predates the 111,429-acre infrared estimate in Sunday's incident update.

Elevated to critical fire weather conditions were expected to continue Sunday, with Red Flag Warnings remaining in effect across much of the region. Westerly winds were expected to bring some improvement later in the weekend, although wildfire smoke was forecast to continue affecting areas near and downwind of regional fires.

Air quality conditions varied sharply across North Central Washington. The Interagency Wildland Fire Air Quality Response Program forecast smoke ranging from unhealthy for sensitive groups to very unhealthy in Chelan and from moderate to unhealthy in Entiat. The Methow Valley was expected to experience the region's poorest conditions, ranging from unhealthy to hazardous, with the worst air quality during the early morning hours.

Wenatchee and Leavenworth were forecast to have mostly good air quality Sunday, while Lake Wenatchee was expected to range from good to moderate. The smoke outlook said west winds were pushing elevated smoke concentrations toward the eastern portion of the forecast area, with smoke around Lake Chelan expected to increase later in the afternoon and evening.

California Interagency Incident Management Team 2 was scheduled to turn management of the fire over to Pacific Northwest Team 12 on Sunday.

Forest closures remain in effect in portions of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest affected by the fire, and Level 2 fire restrictions are in effect on national forest lands.