Single Publication

Swauk Creek Fire Update

September 11, 2024

Estimated size: 214 acres

Containment: 3%

Start Date/Time: 9/8/2024 at 3:54 PM

Area of Origin: Adjacent to Highway 97, 14 miles east of Cle Elum, WA

Cause: Vehicle Fire/Under Investigation                  

Structures Damaged: 0

Update: Overnight crews continued to monitor the Swauk Creek Fire. There was minimal overnight growth. Today crews will continue to work on direct and indirect line placement. They will survey the best placement for line and include current roads or trail systems as well as identify other locations where it is safe to add handline or dozer line. We are having to add more handlines than dozer lines due to steep terrain and difficult access into the fire area. We did receive some rain in the area, but it since it was not a wetting rain, it didn’t have any effects on the fire.

Air resources have continued to drop water and retardant on the fire. More resources will continue to arrive on the fire. These resources will help spread out the workload so more can be accomplished in a more compressed timeline.

Road Closures: Today, Highway 97 will remain restricted to one lane of travel with a pilot car for today with anticipation of reopening the road this evening. Please be patient as there may be delays due to active fire in this area and heavy fire equipment traffic.

Evacuation Levels: The evacuations have been updated as a precaution; there is no immediate residential threat from this fire. These updates can be found on the interactive map. Many Forest Service roads are affected in this area, please review the map if you want to know about a specific location/road.

Live map of active fires from Kittitas County:

https://kitcogis.maps.arcgis.com/.../minima.../index.html...

The First Creek area is currently closed to the public.

Notification Level 3 (Go Now) shows on the map, however there are no residential structures in this area.

Notification Level 2 (Get ready, this one ready to go out)

• Residences east of US 97 north of fire to Liberty Rd
• Forest Service Road 3506 south of fire to Upper Green Canyon Rd

Notification Level 1 (Be Fire Aware)

• The town of Liberty
• All Liberty Rd
• Forest Service Road 9726 and all of its extensions (including Deer Gulch, Pine Gulch, Robinson Gulch and Harkness Gulch)

At this time, there are no evacuation notices issued for residents south of First Creek or west of US Highway 97.

As always, conditions can change quickly, please stay alert and avoid the area if you feel unsafe.

Weather and Fire Behavior: Today’s weather will be mostly cloudy due with a hazy morning and areas of smoke in the late morning. Rain showers are likely with a slight chance of thunderstorms late this afternoon. Temperatures are anticipated to be 61 to 64 degrees today with light winds 5 to 8 mph. This evening’s temperatures are expected to be 46 to 49 degrees with lighter south to southwest winds.