Officials Hopeful as Swawilla Fire Reaches 65% Containment
Note: An Aug. 1 KPQ story incorrectly reported that 28 structures had been lost in the Swawilla Fire.
Gwen Beavans of Northern Rockies Incident Management Team 6 has updates regarding the Swawilla Fire.
On July 17, the lightning-fueled Swawilla Fire got underway on the Colville Reservation (already battered by a long history of destructive wildfires). This greatly imperiled communities like Keller, which remains under a Level 3 evacuation order.
Over 650 personnel are working diligently to manage the fire.
While daunting challenges lay ahead, Beavans is optimistic. (For all other information, visit the Swawilla Fire webpage.)
"The last couple of days have been really good," she says. "We're doing a strategic burning operation, which is just another way of saying we're putting fire on the ground underneath planned conditions. Good weather, good employees, skilled personnel - that enabled this to be a successful event."
"They burned up about 3,000 acres. That ended up tucking in or creating a little 'catcher's mitt' around the Keller area. We've really proud of that; it seems to have gone really successfully."
"In the last couple of days, they've also been able to use drones; unmanned aerial systems. That helped them get to ignite the interior areas that are a little harder to get to. Makes it a lot safer for the firefighters. It also enables us to do nighttime ignition."
"The southern part of the wildfire is in that containment area. The part that still remains - that remaining 35% - is up in the Keller area, up on the northeast section of fire."
"As of Friday, there's a red flag warning because of the extreme heat and dry conditions and relative humidity. Usually a red flag warning is issued because of those conditions plus wind conditions. Thankfully, the wind isn't a problem, at least for [Friday]."
"But the weather will be unstable. The good news is that it's supposed to lift some of the smoke up and clear the air a little bit."
"People in the community and firefighters may see a little bit of uptick in overall fire behavior [on Friday and Saturday]. I think overall, though, we feel really good about having containment lines solid and secure. We have contingency lines put in as well and we feel really good about those being secure at this point."
"Right now, of course, the Keller area is at a Level 3, but it still goes all the way down to the end of the fire footprint on the east side. When I 'say east side,' I mean down [Hwy] 21."
"We also have a Level 2 that is on the west side of the fire, going from Elmer City all the way up. Elmer south is not an evacuation area."
"People have asked about the Nespelem area - that area going north up to Cache Creek Road is at a Level 1."
"When we use drones, a lot of people get very interested. We have a little slogan: 'If you fly, we can't.' So no drones are allowed within our temporary flight restriction area."
"We also have a lot of people congregating in Level 3 areas, trying to get footage and watching the drone activity. That just hampers the efforts of the firefighters; it's also not safe for them."
"We're just asking people to stay out of those areas, respect what the evacuation orders mean and give the firefighters some space to get this job done. The sooner that all happens, the sooner everybody can get to their homes safe and sound."