Fire burns 4,673 acres, 50 percent contained

OROVILLE – The Nine Mile fire started on Thursday, Aug. 13, and is located three miles northeast of Oroville. The fire has burned 4,673 acres, is 50 percent contained and has 194 personnel working on the fire.

The fire moved beyond the United States border and into British Columbia burning 120 acres (48.5 hectares). The fire is burning in timber and grass, in steep, rugged terrain. Cooperating agencies include: Washington Department of Natural Resources, Okanogan County Fire District 11 (Molson-Chesaw Fire Dept.), Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office and Okanogan County Emergency Management. This fire was not caused by a plane crash, as initially reported.

Fire behavior on the Nine Mile fire has diminished significantly to isolated smoke from a few stumps. The night shift crews worked until midnight last night, patrolling the fire lines and checking for hot spots.

Today, firefighters will continue work on strengthening the fire line along the northeast perimeter. Firefighters are mopping up 150 feet in from the perimeter and are felling dangerous trees. An unknown number of structures burned in the fire. Fire personnel are identifying and assessing the loss of structures on the Nine Mile fire.

Showers and thunderstorms diminished over the fire last night. Another weak cold front moves in from the northwest on Monday. The front is expected to be dry and will produce breezy northerly winds for the afternoon. Above normal temperatures and dry conditions will return during the middle of next week.

Due to the evolving fire situation, the public is urged to check road closures and travel conditions by going to www.wsdot.com/traffic/trafficalerts/.

Washington Interagency Incident Management Team 2 (WA IMT2) would like to thank the public for their support during the Nine Mile fire. Fire danger remains extremely high across the state. Be sure to check your fire agencies for local restrictions, forest and state closures.