The fire danger is very high as indicated by this sign going up state Highway 20 east of Tonasket. The Maryls Road Fire about 16 miles east of Tonasket burned 408 acres and one outbuilding last week, according to the DNR. Photo by Gary DeVon
TONASKET – A wildland fire that started Tuesday, Aug. 9 blackening 408 acres and destroying an out-building is 100 contained, according to a DNR spokesman.
The Marlys Road Fire was called in by the Sawyer and Sawyer Company that morning and the Department of Natural Resources responded to the blaze that went up the hill near Hanging Rock off Highway 20 about 16 miles east of Tonasket. The fire continued burning northeast in sage and scattered ponderosa pine to Boulder Road. At one point the wildfire threatened 13 homes, according to Guy Gifford, a spokesman with the DNR, who added that evacuations were not called for.
About 135 firefighters fought the fire. In addition to DNR crews, firefighters from Okanogan County Fire Districts 11, 12 and 16 were brought in. The DNR also used two helicopters and two air tankers to contain the fire.
Elsewhere in the area U.S. Forest Service firefighters have responded to reports of smoke since a lightning storm moved through Okanogan County the afternoon and evening of Thursday, Aug. 11.
Smokejumpers responded to a fire reported by the Goat Peak Lookout. The small fire was in the Bridge Creek area, southwest of Winthrop and fireline has been constructed around its perimeter.
Firefighters also responded to reports of smoke in the Nicholson Creek area, northeast of Tonasket.
For Okanogan County, most of the lightning was on National Forest Land west of the Okanogan River. In some places, the lightning was accompanied by rain, so there is an expectation that it may be a few days before smoke is visible, writes Shannon O’Brien, Public Information Officer for the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests.
“Quick response is important in catching fires while they are still small. Firefighter patrols, fire lookouts, aerial reconnaissance and reports from citizens are all helping,” writes O’Brien.
To report a fire, call 911 or 1-800-258-5990.
