Pioneer Fire consumes 300 acres – Lake Chelan News

NCW News
Neighborhood media

CHELAN — Firefighters and aircraft continued to battle the Pioneer Fire in Chelan County on Sunday, with several ground and air resources assigned to contain the blaze. The fire, burning grass and wood about 31 miles northwest of Chelan near the shore of Lake Chelan, was first reported at 12:45 p.m. Saturday and is currently estimated to be it covers 300 acres.

Chelan County Emergency Management has issued Level 3 (Leave Now) evacuation orders for the area around Rex Creek and Level 1 (Be Prepared) orders from north of Prince Creek to Cascade Creek. The Lakeshore Trail was closed from Prince Creek to Moore Point as a precaution.

A Complex Incident Management Team (CIMT) has been tasked with managing the fire, with Pacific Northwest Team 13 expected to take command on Monday, June 10.

The weather forecast for the fire area Monday is sunny, with a high near 76°F and a northwest wind 7 to 10 miles per hour. However, firefighters are bracing for stronger winds expected Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday morning, with gusts up to 32 miles per hour, which could potentially fuel the fire's spread.

Investigators suspect the Pioneer Fire was caused by a structure fire that spread to nature, but the incident remains under investigation. Authorities are urging anyone with information or photos of the fire's start Saturday to contact wildfire investigator Bruce Long at [email protected].