Small fires on Palmer Mountain

MAZAMA – The lightning-caused Easy Fire is burning in large dense timber with abundant dead trees and extensive ground vegetation about 17 miles west of Mazama.

The fire has grown to 354 acres and was listed as zero percent contained by the U.S. Forest Service last Monday morning. The terrain is extremely steep and continued hot, dry and unstable weather conditions on Monday led to very active fire behavior including torching, or fire climbing from the ground to the tops of trees. Short range spotting, where embers are cast out in front of the fire, also contributed to fire spread.

Easy Fire extends over Mt. Hardy, threatening the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), while also moving down slope toward State Route 20 (SR 20) North Cascades Highway.

“While steep slopes contribute to fire suppression challenges, crews are utilizing full suppression tactics that have the highest likelihood for success while mitigating risks to firefighters and the public,” said Lonnie Click, Incident Commander, NWCIMT3.

Rolling rock, falling trees and active fire near the highway necessitate the closure on SR 20 to protect the public from hazards associated with fire behavior and suppression tactics. Crews are felling dead trees between the active fire edge and State Route 20 to help limit fire spread toward the highway.

Helicopters assisted firefighters on Monday with water bucket drops to slow the spread of the Easy Fire. Crews are actively establishing control lines and installing sprinkler systems.

In North Okanogan County the Rainbow Lake Fire on Palmer Mountain and the nearby Wannacut Fire both started last Monday morning. The Rainbow Lake Fire was listed as 150 acres and the Wannacut Fire at 64 acres last Tuesday afternoon.

In addition to the burn restrictions in place in Okanogan County, the state Department of Resources on DNR lands and the U.S. Forest Service have burn restrictions in place in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest and Colville National Forest.