Little Giant Fire named top-priority wildfire in U.S., 150,000 acres burned

The Little Giant Fire is now the top-priority wildfire in the country, meaning requests for more crews and equipment can move closer to the front of the line.

The fire is actively burning in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, located near the City of Plain. The fire, which started at the end of July, has burned approximately 150,000 acres.

As many as 1,857 fire personnel have been assigned to the Little Giant Fire. The Washington Army National Guard is also assisting, securing the fire lines to help shield nearby structures from the fire. The fire threatens more than 6,000 structures.

There’s a reason firefighters need the additional support and resources, according to Fire Behavior Analyst Kevin Montoya, as a historically dry winter left the forest ready to burn. The Little Giant Fire is burning in a heavily timbered area, making it one of the most difficult terrains in which to fight a fire.

“All of the dead fuels that are lying on the ground, the logs and the timber that have been impacted by previous fires or have been blown down by storms, normally they’d be sitting in the snow, sitting in water, sitting on wet ground, and it would take quite a long time for them to dry out,” Montoya told KIRO Newsradio. “So when they do get impacted by fire, the fire doesn’t rage through it; it reacts and burns, but it has that moisture in it that has to get cooked off before it moves. That’s not the case this year. The logs and the stuff that’s on the ground, logs as big as people, have the same moisture or less moisture than lumber at Home Depot. So it’s got that kiln-dried aspect to it. It is not resistant to carrying fire at all.”

That dry fuel — combined with strong winds — helped send embers over a ridge near Stormy Mountain on Lake Chelan’s west side Thursday. But the weather may finally be turning in firefighters’ favor with a new storm moving in next week:

“Not a whole lot of rain, not saying the whole fire will get rain, but we will see a little bit of rainfall on parts of the fire,” Incident Meteorologist Nick Nosler said.

The lightning-caused Little Giant Fire is now 25% contained, as of this reporting.

More than 6,000 structures are threatened, with nearly 2,400 homes in the fire area.

This is a developing story, check back for updates

Contributing: Frank Sumrall, MyNorthwest