7-24-14 9 a.m. Carlton Complex East Zone Update

Community Meeting at Conconully Community Hall on Friday, July 25 at 7 p.m.

Yesterday’s Accomplishments:  Dozers and hand crews successfully connected seven miles of containment lines across the fire’s northeast flank, south of Highway 20, but the area is not yet considered contained. Unburned fuels remain between the main fire and the containment lines that may challenge the line when temperatures rise and winds pick up in the next several days.

Equipment to detect underground heat near containment lines arrived. Crews used the detectors last night to find and extinguish any heat remaining within 300 feet of homes.

911, Phone Networks Affected by Outage:  Emergency responders and residents are affected by a widespread outage in cell-phone, land-line and internet service in Okanogan County.  Until communications services can be restored, people experiencing medical or other emergencies might be unable to reach police and firefighters through the 911 network.  Anyone who needs help should directly contact the nearest fire or police station.  The outage also affects the Incident Command Post at the Omak Stampede Grounds.

Federal Emergency Declaration: The President approved an emergency declaration authorizing FEMA to grant emergency assistance to communities impacted by the Carlton Complex and other eastern Washington fires.  For additional information, see https://www.fema.gov/news-release/2014/07/23/president-obama-signs-washington-emergency-declaration.

Today’s Activities: More than 800 firefighters continue to work on the fire’s East Zone. Firefighters will continue to patrol and put out hot spots along fire lines in communities, with an emphasis on areas within 300 feet of homes.  On the fire’s northeast flank, south of Highway 20, crews will continue to patrol for spot fires and strengthen and improve containment lines.

Drivers on Highway 20 are asked to use caution as firefighting traffic remains heavy in the area.  Areas along Highway 20 remain in Evacuation Level 2 because fire behavior is expected to increase with breezy and dryer conditions predicted over the next several days.  Information on evacuations is available from the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office, 509-422-2422, 2428, or 2420.

Carlton Complex Overview:  Three incident management teams and a National Incident Management Organization remain in place.  The fire is divided into three management zones, with incident camps at Omak, Winthrop, and Chelan.

The fire acreage is 250,489 acres with 52 percent containment.  Today, 2,858 personnel are assigned, including 59 crews, 212 engines, 13 dozers, and five helicopters.  Air tankers are available, if needed.

For updated road conditions, contact the Washington Department of Transportation (www.wsdot.com or call 511).