OMAK – High winds Monday afternoon pushed the Greenacres Fire, which started on the east side of Greenacres Road approximately two miles north of Bide-A-Wee Road, around 3:10 p.m.
The winds were coming out of the north with reported gusts as high as 50 miles per hour, pushing the fire south and east. Level 3 and Level 2 Evacuations were issued on Monday, but by 10:40 a.m. Tuesday, they were reduced to Level 1, according to Okanogan County Emergency Management (OCEM).
“The fire is still burning in isolated spots. All roads are open,” wrote Emergency Management in the Tuesday 10:40 p.m. update.
On Monday, there was heavy fire personnel and equipment traffic in the area, along with the Okanogan County Public Utility District replacing power poles along the roadways.
Emergency Management has asked people who do not live in the area to please stay clear.
Fire crews from throughout the county were dispatched on Monday, along with the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Mt. Tolman, Chelan and Douglas counties. Several heavy aircraft were used to drop fire retardant and water.
The fire consumed an estimated 400 to 500 acres by that night, with several homes and outbuildings lost. PUD sustained damage to numerous power poles and there were several power outages in the area.
As of nightfall on Monday, the fire was still active with no containment, according to Emergency Management, which added the winds slowed to 15-20 mph.
“The rough fire perimeter is south along Greenacres Road on both the east and west side to just south of Bide-A-Wee, along Bide-A-Wee Road and east to Tiffany Lane and Robinson Canyon, then north past the Omak Airport along Sand Dust Road to just north of Dels Way,” stated Emergency Management in their update at 12:07 a.m., Tuesday morning.
State Fire mobilization has been approved.
“Fire crews will be working the fire overnight. The fire is still active with hot spots throughout,” reported Emergency Management just after Midnight on Tuesday.
Greenacres Road, Bide-A-Wee Road, Robinson Canyon Road and Omak Airport Road, were all closed, but have since been reopened, according to Emergency Management.
An Evacuation Center was set up at the Omak Seventh Day Adventist Church and a Red Cross Shelter is open at the Omak High School.
Law Enforcement patrolled the area throughout Monday night.
A Type 3 Incident Management Team was to take control of the fire on Tuesday morning.
Those who have lost a home/structure or need assistance should contact Okanogan County Emergency Management at 509-422-7348.
While smoke from the Greenacres Fire was darkening the skies in mid-county, smoke has drifted south from Canada due to a fire burning near Keremeos, BC, in the Similkameen Valley
In a story in the Penticton Western News, the Lower Young Creek wildfire, west of Keremeos, is now being “held,” according to BC Wildfire Service (BCWS). It was discovered on Friday, July 11 at around 3 p.m. and is suspected to be human-caused.
The blaze is 50 hectares (123.553 acres) in size and located near Cathedral Provincial Park. BC Wildfire Service has three helicopters and heavy equipment on scene fighting the fire.
The Young Creek Wildfire is burning at a “moderate rate of spread,” according to BCWS, which also has 32 firefighters attacking the blaze.
Cassidy Martin, fire information officer at BCWS, said even though the fire was mapped at 15 hectares on Friday afternoon, crews were able to get an updated track later in the day that provided a more accurate size.
“It was 50 hectares,” Martin said. “There was actually minimal growth overnight when crews were back on the fire this morning.”
Crews are not seeing aggressive behavior from the blaze, as of 1:45 p.m. on Saturday, Martin added.
Also of note is that the fire has shown “rank 3 behavior,” Martin said that’s considered normal as temperatures heat up through the day.
“That’s more of a moderate, vigorous surface fire,” she added.
Several areas around the fire remain on evacuation alert.
Elsewhere in Okanogan County, several smaller fires have been contained, including the Cordell Fire and the Apple Acres Fire north of Wells Dam.
On Tuesday, July 8, Emergency Management issued a Level 1 advisory for a fire burning along State Route 97, near Mile Post 326, north of O’Neil Road, about five miles south of Oroville. The fire closed SR97 and traffic was rerouted to County Road 7.
The fire burned one structure and damaged another before being contained at 20.3 acres and the highway reopened.
The fire was fought by the Oroville Fire Department and the DNR.
The Apple Acres Fire, near Pateros, burned over 3,000 acres. Evacuation orders for the fire which burned in both Chelan and Okanogan Counties, have been lifted.
