The Wolverine Creek Fire in northeast Washington state has grown by 9,000 acres since Sunday. It’s now at 25,634 acres on the northwest side of Lake Chelan.
Managers say smoke has lifted with the wind a bit so firefighting helicopters can work again. But the wind is picking up the fire too.
Some of the nation’s most elite fire teams are joining the fight against the Wolverine Creek Fire. The fire is chewing through steep terrain in the Cascade foothills. There are few roads in this remote area. Firefighters are sharing barges and ferries with tourists and are trekking in with packs. Others are being dropped off by helicopter.
Fire managers say there may be as many as 500 more crew members on the scene in the next couple of days. It’s been harder to get crews to this national forest fire they say, because of the large wildfires burning in California.
The Wolverine Creek Fire is growing to the west, north and south. The eastern flank is bound in by the lake. The fire is burning through shrubs, Ponderosa pine forest and some Douglas fir.
