Cooler temperatures this week could really help firefighters gain more control over the Schneider Springs Fire, which is now at 17% containment but they’re worried about wind.

A PUBLIC MEETING IS SET FOR 7:00PM MONDAY

If you own a home or a cabin in the fire area you are invited to a Virtual Public Meeting Monday at 7:00PM on the SchneiderSpringsFire Facebook page.

Officials with the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest say the fire grew from 99,398 acres on Friday to 102,355 acres Monday. Windy conditions over the fire area Monday could increase fire activity but firefighters say they’ll focus on the northern sections of the fire to secure line from east to west. Crews plan to work further north of Edgar Rock, strengthening dozer and handline to anchor the northeast area of the fire near Cliffdell. A press release says “structure protection will remain another primary focus in both the Bumping Lake/Goose Prairie and Cliffdell areas. Operations within the William O. Douglas area are expected to continue utilizing Burnt Mountain as an anchor point to prevent further growth.”

EVACUATION LEVELS WERE LOWERED SUNDAY AFTERNOON

Evacuation levels have changed.

LEVEL 2: Bumping River Road corridor from north to south; Highway 410 corridor from Salmon Cove to Pinecliff; LEVEL 1: Highway 410 corridor from Pinecliff to the junction of U.S. Route 12, and from U.S. 12 at Hwy 410 west to Tieton Reservoir Rd. See map at Yakima Valley Emergency Management: https://www.facebook.com/YakimaCountyOEM Sign up for alerts at Yakima County geo-specific emergency alert system: https://www.yakimacounty.us/2222/Alert-Yakima

CLOSURES ARE STILL IN EFFECT IN THE FIRE AREA

Closures: An area closure for National Forest System lands is in effect. The closure order and map are available at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/closures/7775/ Campfires are prohibited throughout the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is in place over the fire area. Wildfires are a No Drone Zone. If You Fly We Can’t Fly https://knowbeforeyoufly.org/home  All Washington Department of Natural Resources managed lands in the fire area are temporarily closed, more at: https://www.dnr.wa.gov/dnr-closure-eastern-2021

HUNDREDS ARE STILL ON THE FIRE LINES BUT FEWER THAN LAST WEEK

Last week more than 700 people and resources were working the fire. Today that number is down to 601. Those on the fire lines include 11 hand crews, 36 engines, 7 dozers, 8 aircraft and 30 other pieces of heavy equipment. Some of the air resources are based at the Yakima Air Terminal including helicopters and firefighting aircraft. They fly over the city during daily operations to refuel at the airport.
While firefighters are hoping the fire will be doused sooner than later they are pushing for an October 1 goal of fully containing the fire on that day.
Firefighters are hoping for full containment by October 1 but the fight continues until that date.

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