On Sunday firefighters continued strengthening and building more fire containment line in the northern zone of the Carlton Complex, establishing an anchor in the northwest corner of the fire. In addition, good progress was made building line on the east side of Highway 153, between the Carlton area and Twisp. Firefighters are holding the fire to the south side of Libby Creek. Additional crews and equipment will be moved to this section of the fire on Monday to further secure this priority area. If weather conditions are favorable, fire crews plan to conduct a burn out operation to construct six miles of fireline to extend the containment lines around the north end of the fire. During the burn out operation, residents may see large amounts of smoke at the north end of the fire. Firefighters are working both day and night shifts to provide structure protection and patrol areas. An Initial Attack Group was established to help respond to any new wildfire starts in the vicinity.
A community meeting was held in Brewster Sunday evening, with fire managers and other emergency officials presenting a status update and answering questions from the residents. Approximately 120 people attended.
Damage to area utilities continues to hamper communications, and there is no estimate of when repairs will be completed. The Incident Command Post’s immediate needs are being met with portable electric generators.
The Carlton Complex was split into three management zones on Sunday, with two new Incident Management Teams now in place to assist with containing this large fire. One team is based near Winthrop, one in Omak, and one in Chelan.
Today, the weather will be sunny and smoky in the valleys. The weather outlook for later this week is a chance of rain showers and thunderstorms over the fire area.
Late Sunday evening the fire was 243,291 acres in size. 1622 firefighters are assigned to the complex.
Highway Closures: Road closures may be in effect and closures can change quickly due to the fire situation.
• Highway 20 reopened over Loup Loup Pass Sunday evening.
• Contact the "511" automated Washington Department of Transportation Travel Information line for updated information, or call (509) 667-2802.
Forest Service Area Closures: All USFS land south of the Twisp River Rd. and the #37 Rd are closed. This includes the entire Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness on both the Methow and Chelan sides of the ridge, with the exception of the Lakeside Trail near Chelan. Also included is the South Summit area of the Methow Ranger District.
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