‘Pretty sure it was started by fireworks’: Douglas County asking for volunteers, donations as Chelan Hills Fire scorches region

As the Chelan Hills Fire approaches full containment, the cause is under criminal investigation by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

Douglas County is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the perpetrator who caused the fire. The reward was issued by the Douglas County Board of Commissioners.

“We’re pretty sure it was started by fireworks. Douglas County has issued $25,000 as a reward to try to catch the people who started this fire with fireworks, and it’s been really windy over the last two, three weeks,” Douglas County Board President Stacy Willoughby said on “The Gee and Ursula Show.” “We’ve had several days of red flag warnings, you know, where nobody’s supposed to be burning anything, and the wind shifted. It got really crazy that evening. I have friends whose homes were saved, and friends of friends who lost their homes. It just happened so fast.”

McNeil Canyon Road, the hardest-hit area of the fire that still remains closed, is now considered a crime scene. It’s where a man was found dead in a burned-out car that had slid off the road as he likely tried to outrun the flames, which started last Saturday night and were fanned by hot weather and high winds.

“The story that’s most top of mind is the gentleman who died,” Willoughby said. “What he was trying to do was evacuate.”

The fire has now damaged 19 residences and “several dozen” buildings, Douglas County Sheriff Tyler Caille revealed during a press conference Thursday.

Where to donate

Chelan Valley Hope is organizing both donations and volunteers for those affected by the fire. Donations can be given here.

“Anytime we have a disaster like this, and it’s still early in the season, there’s always an influx of donations, and so between all three organizations, we could use volunteers,” Willoughby said. “The McNeil Canyon Road is closed, so it’s also difficult for us to get things to the people and to the areas that are under evacuation. So volunteers should move things around to wherever people are.”

“It’s so sad. It is such a beautiful area, but it seems like every single summer, they’re dealing with fire,” KIRO host Ursula Reutin said about the Chelan region.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.