Firefighters continue battling flames in the Vantage Highway Fire. So far the fire has burned one cabin and three outbuildings.
The fire didn't grow on Tuesday night currently at 10,500 acres at 18% contained. A press release says aircraft has been working on the blaze since early Wednesday morning concentrating on the northern boundary of the fire. Crews on the ground are using a range of tactics, digging line, “cold trailing” (when firefighters touch the border of a burnt-out section of ground with the backs of their hands to assess whether the fire could kick up again in that area), and conducting small burnouts to secure the line. The aim of the work is to douse the western flank of the fire.

The fire almost ran out of control on the south side Tuesday

Fire officials say on Tuesday night the fire burned over to the south side of Vantage Highway, the southern boundary of the fire. Crews quickly caught the flames and today firefighters are continuing mop-up along Vantage Highway. However, this means that more crews will be working in the area, and the Vantage Highway will remain closed Wednesday.

The battle continues against the flames and the weather

Crews are not only battling the flames but also the weather as a result the national weather service has issued a Red Flag Warning which is in effect until 9:00 p.m. Wednesday due to low humidity, high winds, and elevated temperatures. Firefighters look forward to Thursday when the forecast calls for cooler temperatures.

I-90 is not impacted but other road closures are in place

Evacuations and Road Closures: Vantage Highway remains closed from Parke Creek Road through Recreation Drive except for local traffic. Power crews continue to work diligently to replace damaged power poles along the highway. The highway will not open today. There are no evacuation notices today.
The Kittitas Secondary School is the Incident Command Post for Southeast WA Type 3 Interagency Incident Management Team, which is collaborating with Washington DNR, the BLM, and the Washington State Patrol-Fire Marshal’s office for this state mobilization response.

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