LYLE — In today’s daily report, Northwest Complex Incident Management Team 13 announced that crews successfully connected primary fuel breaks around the Burdoin Fire’s perimeter, which has now consumed 11,248 acres and is 13% contained. Northwest 13 also assumed command of the 52-acre Snyder Canyon Fire off Brewer Road, near the town of Klickitat.
“Active burning, including isolated torching, is still taking place in many areas of the fire. Containment means the threat of a fire escaping its boundaries are significantly reduced. Due to the terrain and fuels in some areas of the fire, extensive work will be needed to achieve these conditions,” the report said of the Burdoin Fire.
Crews are focusing on reinforcing the fire’s perimeter, extinguishing hotspots around homes and opening roads, but the following closures are still in place: State Route 14 between milepost 66 east of Bingen to milepost 76 west of Lyle; the Courtney, Bristol and Bates connection up to Snowden; Old Highway 8; Lyle Snowden, Canyon and Fischer Hill roads up to Sleepy Hollow Road, which is closed between Lyle Snowden and Fischer Hill; McGowan Road; Struck Road; and Centerville Highway between Lyle and Schilling Road.
Sustained wind speeds of 20 miles per hour, with gusts possibly reaching 35 miles per hour, are expected. Relative humidity levels are sitting at 25%, slightly above the Red Flag threshold.
“Today is a critical fire weather and fuels day. These are the same kind of conditions that were around when the fire first started,” said Dean Warner, Northwest 13’s fire behavior analyst, during a video briefing this morning. “We’ve got the fire cornered, especially down in these small, inaccessible areas. The problem is, we’re going to have really high winds that are going to test the fire in those particular locations.”
Evacuation orders for the Burdoin Fire remain unchanged following Tuesday’s small reduction near the Dallesport area. The Level 3 “Go Now” zone stretches from Dickey Farms just outside of Bingen, past Lyle to Schilling Road and many miles up the Klickitat River Valley north of High Prairie.
Residents are prohibited from returning until notified by the county. Monitor the Klickitat County Department of Emergency Management’s (KCDEM’s) Facebook page and website for up-to-date information, and sign up for emergency alerts by clicking here. KCDEM also has a live, interactive map of evacuation orders and road closures.
Red Cross Emergency Shelters are located at Grace Baptist Church, 1280 W. Jewett Blvd, in White Salmon and The Dalles Middle School, 1100 E. 12th St. If you have housing available for affected residents, fill out this form, or if you’d like to volunteer, click here.
As for the Snyder Canyon Fire, KCDEM has scaled back evacuation orders, which now mainly impact those living on Brewer Road. Klickitat and Wahkiacus, previously in the Level 3 zone, are now sitting on the border of Level 1 and outside the evacuation area, respectively. State Route 142 is open for evacuees, and as of publishing, the small fire is 0% contained. KCDEM is asking all residents to refrain from stopping on the road, and noted the closure can be enforced again at any time.
Also, following a brief flare-up when four spot fires ignited along Bickleton Highway several miles east of Goldendale yesterday afternoon, all evacuation orders and road closures have been lifted as the fires, which burned 120 acres, are fully contained.
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