According to the Little Giant Fire Information Center, on Sunday, the Little Giant Fire has burned 38,500 acres in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest and is 0% contained.
According to the center, on Saturday, the fire crested hills near Lake Chelan. The information center said Sunday a hotshot crew is en route to this area and will begin hiking up to the fire area to take suppression action to contain these spots.
According to the information center, a community meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Monday, August 3, at Chelan County Fire District #8, 2200 Entiat Way, Entiat, Wash., 98822. The public is encouraged to submit questions in advance by e-mailing 2026.littlegiant@firenet.gov with the subject line “Community Meeting.”
The information center said the meeting will also be live-streamed on the Lake Wenatchee Fire & Rescue’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lakewenatcheefirerescue/
According to the latest press release from the center, the east side of the Little Giant Fire had the greatest growth on Saturday due to winds over 40 mph.
The center said the fire crossed the Entiat River north of Silver Falls Campground and moved along the ridge to Shady Pass, toward Big Hill, and farther east and north of Duncan Hill Trailhead.
Toward the south of the fire’s edge, along Chikamin Creek, the fire has been significantly slowed by the lack of available fuels from the 2022 Minnow Ridge Fire and is showing significantly less heat than previous days.
On the southern edge of the incident, the fire continued to burn north of Brush Creek and west of the Chiwawa River, with firefighters using helicopters for strategic water drops. Additionally, the fire is burning on the slopes of Minnow Creek, north of Chikamin Creek Trailhead, where hotshot crews worked to construct direct control lines from west of Forest Road 6200 to Minnow Ridge and Chikamin Creek.
Reduced activity was also observed on the western edge of the fire along the Chiwawa Ridge as the fire is running up against granite and limited fuels. Cloudy skies and even some precipitation were observed in this area.
At the northwest corner of the fire in Maple Creek, the fire hasn’t shown significant growth for many days, with limited heat detected on infrared imagery. On the north side of the incident, the fire progressed into the Glacier Peak Wilderness along the western slope of Fifth of July Mountain into Rock Creek just north of Estes Butte.
At the headwaters of the Entiat River, the previously mentioned spot fires showed some growth, as expected, due to existing fuels within the 2015 Wolverine Fire footprint.
Weather: Temperatures cool on Sunday, though lingering breezy winds will keep fire weather conditions elevated. Once the low moves out of the area, a ridge along the Pacific Northwest coast will strengthen, bringing warm, dry conditions next week.
Evacuations: This is a dynamic and rapidly evolving fire. For the latest information on current evacuations, please visit Chelan County Emergency Management Active Emergencies (bit.ly/43qqPnm). The public can sign up to get alerts directly by visiting: https://member.everbridge.net/406411280384261/login.
Red Cross Emergency Center Location: Entiat Warehouse Community Church, 14916 US-97A, Entiat, Washington. Phone: 509-784-2710.
Safety and Closures: There is an updated forest closure for portions of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in the area of the Little Giant Fire. For specific locations, closure order, and maps, visit the Forest’s website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/okanogan-wenatchee/alerts/little-giant-fire-closure-order-wenatchee-river-ranger-district.
This closure prohibits entry or use of roads, recreation sites, and trails within a defined area within the Wenatchee River/Entiat Ranger Districts to ensure the safety of the public and firefighting resources during the Little Giant Fire.
Level 2 fire restrictions are in effect for public lands on the Forest.
Smoke: A daily smoke outlook is being produced for the area by incident-qualified air resource advisors. That outlook can be found at: https://outlooks.airfire.org/outlook/be2c34b6.Additional information can be found on the Washington Smoke Blog: https://wasmoke.blogspot.com/