Whitney Babb-Malden Manning Fire Update - Sept. 14 2020

The Whitney, Babb-Malden and Manning fires all started on Monday, September 7, when a cold front created gusts in excess of 50 mph, resulting in extreme fire behavior and rapid fire growth.  Firefighters continue making significant progress on all three fires. Air quality will remain hazardous through the next few days as the smoke plume from fires on the West Coast continues to move through the area. A cold front with gusts up to 18 mph may arrive today, which brings a 20 percent chance of scattered showers and possibly some relief from the smoke. These gusty winds will be the first test of the containment lines.

Whitney Fire

Yesterday: Most firefighting activity occurred in the northeast corner of the fire as crews continued mopping up 300 feet from all structures. Crews broke apart and extinguished a burning hay storage area south of Schuster Road. Washington National Guard soldiers and airmen, along with firefighters, continued strengthening containment lines and refilling livestock troughs. Flights remained grounded because of heavy smoke. More accurate mapping of the fire’s perimeter increased the total area burned from 123,893 to 125,123 acres.

Today: Emphasis will be placed on mop up operations in the northeast corner of the fire and where needed throughout the area. Firefighters will patrol the southeast and southwest perimeter. Palm IRs, handheld heat sensing devices, will be used to search for heat sources within containment lines and around structures. Unburned islands of fuel within the fire perimeter will continue to burn and produce smoke. Power line crews are working to restore poles and lines throughout the burn area. Firefighters will also continue cattle trough restoration.

Evacuation and Closures: The evacuation level was reduced from Level 3 (Go!) to Level 2 (Get Set) north of State Route 2. Level 2 Evacuation remains in effect within the fire perimeter. The remainder of the area outside the fire line will stay at a Level 1 Evacuation (Ready). A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) remains in place over the fire.

Babb-Malden Fire

Yesterday: Additional resources significantly increased containment efforts as a “surge mobilization” of cooperating agencies focused on extinguishing visible smoke and continuing mop up work around structures.

Today: Fire crews will mop up, watch for flare ups, and continue to strengthen control lines in an effort to bring the fire into patrol status. Fire management will return this incident back to the local fire district at 6:00 pm.

Evacuation and Closures: Pine City-Malden Road is currently closed to the public from the west side of Pine City to the eastside of Malden. The communities of St. John, Sunset, Thornton and Ewan are at Level 1 Evacuation. Please refer to the Whitman County Sheriff’s Facebook page for more information on closures and Evacuations.

Manning Fire

Yesterday: Firefighters strengthened fire lines and brought the fire into patrol status.

Today: The public may continue to see smoke from within the fires perimeter as interior islands of unburned fuels ignite. Crews will continue to monitor the fire to ensure it remains in patrol status. The incident management team will turn the fire back to the local fire district at 6:00 pm.