Thursday, October 1, 2026
ENTIAT — Fire officials discussed challenges, logistics and strategies regarding the Lower Sugarloaf Fire and nearby Labor Mountain Fire during a community meeting Tuesday evening.
“All the fires this summer, as was Lower Sugarloaf and the Labor Mountain Fire were deemed full suppression. We haven’t had any other response besides full suppression given the conditions that we find ourselves in around drought and fire danger. So that has been our stance about how we choose to respond to fires this year,” said Tara Umphries, Forest Supervisor of Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest (NF).
According to Umphries, the Okanogan-Wenatchee NF has experienced 97 fires covering 28,000 acres and counting this year.
The Tuesday night discussion leaned heavily on the logistics of the Lower Sugarloaf Fire, located between Chumstick Highway and Entiat. As of Wednesday afternoon, the fire neared 14,000 acres in size. The fire is burning partially in the footprint of the 1994 Tyee Fire and the 2018 Cougar Creek Fire, as well as thick timber and brush that has not seen fire within record.
James Osborne, Northwest Team 3 Incident Commander, opened with explaining the tiered approach to a fire, beginning with an initial attack team, extended attack, then complex incident management team for large, impactful fires; the Northwest Team 3 incident management was called on Sept. 2.
Osborne explained that the fire has fluctuated on the National Interagency Coordination Center’s Interagency Situation Report (SIT), which prioritizes wildfire resources across the country by values at risk and other factors. Its priority has shifted from first to fifth to tenth and back again as conditions change.
“That prioritization plays into potentially why you’re not seeing helicopters flying or air tankers flying, because they are also on other fires,” said Osborne. “Aircraft just across the northwest and across the country are spread super thin.”
According to Osborne, there are aircraft assigned to the fire, but the resources are being shared with the Wildcat Fire in the Naches Ranger District, and are also being utilized for initial attack on new fires in the area as more lightning storms roll through. Additionally, certain types of aircraft can be limited by smoke levels and complex terrain, such as creeks in deep canyons.
The Lower Sugarloaf and Labor Mountain fires combined have over a thousand assigned personnel, sourcing from 29 different states and 22 different agencies, including local, state, and federal levels. There is one fire camp in Cle Elum, one in Plain, and one being built in Entiat. The incident command post (ICP) is working out of Leavenworth, with some work in Wenatchee, said Osborne.
PNW Team 3 Operations Section Chief Nathan Goodrich explained the PACE approach
(primary, alternate, contingency, emergency) for establishing defensible fire lines, as well as using management action points to denote when an action or discussion should take place as the fire reaches it, such as changing evacuation levels.
On the Plain side, Goodrich said crews were establishing dozer and hand lines from the 2018 Cougar Fire line to 52 Road, then connecting to line work along Second Creek and Dry Creek, and eventually Merry Canyon. Further south, progress was being made with hand lines around French Corral and the power lines.
During a recent storm, Goodrich said winds helped the fire blow past the planned containment line along Mosquito Ridge, with the fire now reaching Roaring Creek in the south flank. The team plans to establish a primary defensible boundary that follows Dinkleman Road to Mill Canyon, then work inward toward the fire.
“It takes a long time to put those control lines in…We want to get as far out in front of that to create that time and space to actually put that line in….The reality is we can get sucked into [being] too close with not enough time to build the line, and then next thing you know were at the Columbia, and we’ve been behind the curve the whole time,” said Osborne.
On the Entiat side, crews were working on lines along Dinkleman Road, Moe Ridge, Gold Ridge, and Tyee Road, then going inward, said Goodrich.
The meeting also had representation from Chelan County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), whose emergency management team oversees evacuation advisories. CCSO advised residents to be prepared for evacuation levels – which had just been downgraded in Ardenvoir – to rise again. Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison also debunked rumors of looting in the evacuation area.
“We’re not aware of any incident where property has been stolen. If that is something that is happening, please, if you see something say something,” said Morrison.
Officials advised the public to stay up to date with Forest Service closures, evacuation advisories and fire information. Goodrich encouraged those using the fire monitoring app Watch Duty to fact check information with official websites dedicated to the fire.
Evacuation alerts can be received via text, voicemail or email through signing up for the county’s Everbridge Emergency Alert System, or viewed on the Chelan County Emergency Management website. For those without internet or cell service, Morrison advised the use of a radio, and reassured the public that they would go door-to-door when needed.
Entiat Mayor Renee Swearingen recommended that residents call Entiat City Hall for resource assistance during evacuation.
Resources
Chelan County Emergency Management Evacuation Information
How to sign up for emergency alerts
WA DOE Air Quality Map and Washington Smoke Blog
Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media
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