Pioneer Fire At Nearly 19,000 Acres As Local Frustration Mounts

The Pioneer Fire on Lake Chelan has ballooned to nearly 19,000 acres as of Monday morning. 

The fire has spread north along the shoreline and Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 evacuation notices have extended northward, with the Stehekin Valley area now under Level 1. 

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Chelan County Commissioner Tiffany Gering brought up the fire with fellow commissioners Monday morning during a public discussion. 

She said there's frustration among area residents that crews are trying to keep the fire from spreading, rather than trying to put it out. 

"The comment that I constantly hear is they're not trying to put the fire out," said Gering. "That isn't part of what the forest service does. From my understanding they used to. And now, that is a main concern of people is that it's not happening." 

According to the incident management team handling the fire, helicopter bucket drops were being used Sunday morning, but fire activity increased and multiple spot fires established further up drainage near Dan’s Camp trail. At that point, crews were forced to disengage and move to a safe location.  

The fire is now fully established on both sides of Fish Creek, which prompted the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office to issue the Level 1 evacuation advisory for the Stehekin area.  

There are currently 786 crew members assigned to the Pioneer Fire. It's now burning 18,731 acres about 10 miles southeast of Stehekin. The fire is currently 14 percent contained. 

Gering noted in the meeting with fellow commissioners that the management team on the fire has lost federal air resources recently. 

She said the limited number of aircraft currently assigned to the fire is troubling to local residents. 

"There is frustration that they are not attacking with air support, that they are not putting all of their resources in the air to get the fire out," Gering said. 

The fire cost so far is pegged at $25 million. It's being handled jointly by the U.S. Forest Service, The National Park Service and the Washington Department of Natural Resources.  

The Incident Commander is Jeff Dimke while Bob Shindelar is the Deputy Incident Commander for the team in charge of the fire - the Northwest Complex Incident Management Team 12. 

Gering said the current Incident Commander lives in Wenatchee and would be the one person with knowledge of the terrain, the people and the frustrations who could have success in putting the fire out. 

The current changes to evacuation levels for the Pioneer Fire are: 

• Level 3: Extends to Flick Creek
• Level 2: Extends to Hazard Creek
• Level 1: Extends through the Stehekin Valley to High Bridge

Level 1 is a fire advisory, warning people there is a wildfire in the area, and you should monitor fire resources. 

The Chelan County Sheriff's Office says it's working with North Cascades National Park, The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, Washington Department of Natural Resources and the fire managers to constantly evaluate fire conditions and closures to ensure recreational areas remain open as long as access remains safe. 

Stehekin businesses remain open and continue to welcome visitors.