Fire crews still five to seven days from full containment

The “Herculean” effort of firefighters may pay off, as officials are expected to report the Taylor Bridge Fire is nearly 50 percent contained.

Unpredictable winds died down in the afternoon around the fire’s most active areas, and 840 firefighters were able to make substantial progress creating firelines Thursday afternoon.

Winds kicked up on the northwest corner of the Taylor Bridge Fire Thursday. Winds whipped through the Hidden Valley neighborhood and Swauk Creek, where crews are experienced the toughest firefight of the day.

Hundreds of homes were threatened as twin rotor helicopters attempted to stop the flames in the area. Smaller helicopters on Lookout Mountain dropped retardant to stop the fire from racing away like it did earlier in the week under similar wind conditions.

Despite extreme heat along the fire lines in Cle Elum, fire officials hope to increase their containment against the fast-moving flames. Officials are optimistic, though it could be another five to seven days before the blaze is fully contained.

Fire spokesman Mark Grassel said firefighters focused Thursday on strengthening lines at the fire’s stubborn north flank, where it has burned into thick stands of ponderosa pine and Douglas fir.

“They’re really trying to button up that line so they feel more secure about it holding,” he said.

The fire laid down again Wednesday evening allowing firefighters on the night shift to get ahead of the blaze in some areas including Lookout Mountain.

The Taylor Bridge Fire has been a stubborn foe for firefighters assigned to the blaze, which has burned roughly 35 square miles of diverse terrain, ranging from dry grasses to sagebrush and thick timber, east of Cle Elum.

Evacuation levels at the fire’s southeast corner were lowered Thursday afternoon, day four of the fire, allowing some residents to remain home. But exactly how many people were allowed to return was unclear, and the area affected by the new advisory comprises just a small part of the burned area.

Many saw their burned homes for the first time Thursday morning.

Hundreds of residents have been evacuated since the fire started Monday at a bridge construction site.

Helicopters have made regular drops of water on hot spots. Firefighters dug lines with hand tools and bulldozers and cleared wood piles and dry brush from around homes to protect them.

KIRO Radio reporter Chris Sullivan had the opportunity to ride along with a Department of National Resources spokesperson. Watching as firefighters tried to save a neighborhood, Sullivan called their effort “Herculean.”

Even more evacuations were ordered Wednesday evening on the north flank, now the crew’s most active fire fight. Spokesman Glenn Kohler didn’t know how many people were affected but hundreds have already left their homes.

Fire management officials said the blaze was 25 percent contained, up from 10 percent. Crews were five to seven days away from full containment, incident commander Rex Reed told residents Wednesday.

Since Monday, the fire has burned across more than 22,000 acres of tinder-dry grass, sagebrush and timber in rural areas east of Cle Elum.

More than 900 people were working to suppress the blaze. Kohler said one firefighter has suffered a minor facial burn.

The acreage estimate was down from earlier estimates of about 28,000 acres, due to more accurate mapping, Reed said.

On Tuesday, Gov. Chris Gregoire declared a state of emergency for Kittitas and Yakima counties in response to the blaze. The declaration provided air support from the Washington National Guard.

Weather conditions continue to get hotter and drier Thursday and Friday and a potential lightning storm still threatens the effort to contain the fire.

“As we get into the weekend the Northwest is expecting a pretty major lightning event so we’re working very diligently to try to get as much containment of this fire before we get there,” says DNR Fire Incident Commander Reed.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.