Goldendale Area Fire Now Over 17,000 Acres

Washington Incident Management Team 2 reported in a release at about noon today that the fire is at 17,171 acres and 15 percent contained.

The Klickitat County Sheriff's Office has this reminder: "Some residents in the Level 3 evacuation zones are finding color-coded cards posted on their property and are wondering what these signify. The cards are placed by firefighting personnel to triage the property to identify the necessary fire fighting resources that may be necessary to suppress the fire should it reach that point. Please do not remove these cards."

July 28, 12:15 p.m.
Here is the latest update:

FIRE SITUATION: A combination of more accurate mapping and yesterday’s continued fire activity nearly doubled the size estimate. The majority of the fire perimeter growth and heavy smoke production occurred on the east flank as it burned through logging slash. Other areas of the fire experienced only minor growth. Conditions last night allowed firefighters to make excellent progress securing the west flank. A moderating trend in the weather with slightly lower temperatures and higher relative humidity began on Saturday and is expected to continue into Monday.

Today, firefighters will continue to reinforce and extend containment lines eastward along the north and south flanks. While still faced with challenging conditions, fire managers will take advantage of the moderate cooling trend in the weather. The additional fire resources assigned to the incident under the state mobilization declaration are continuing to evaluate and prepare structures in the Box Canyon area by conducting fuels reduction around structures should the fire advance.

A capacity crowd of approximately 150 people attended last night’s community meeting at the Klickitat PUD building in Goldendale. Fire managers and agency representatives provided fire information, evacuation updates and road closures. The meeting concluded with presenters answering questions in break-out groups. A second meeting is planned for today at the Grange Hall located at 4 East Market in Bickleton at 7 p.m.