Residents of Cle Elum are seeing a lot of smoke from the back side of South Cle Elum Ridge. Despite speculation based on different vantage points, the fire is still only on the south side of the ridge.
Retardant was dropped to pre-treat areas that have not burned along the ridgeline, continuing the aggressive suppression actions to keep the fire south of the ridgeline and the 4510 road. The fire has burned to the south side of the 4510 road in places, and crews are holding it there. Firefighters are assigned to continuously monitor for spots across the north side of the line. Only a few have occurred; they are very small and have been fully suppressed.
On the southwest side of the fire, the spot from yesterday was caught on the west side, but has grown to join the main fire on the east side. This means the fire is now established in the lower reaches of Butte Creek, and is expected to grow upslope towards Hicks Butte today. People can expect to see a significant smoke column this afternoon from active fire on the south side of South Cle Elum Ridge.
As fire activity changes with afternoon heat, all personnel engaged on the fireline will continually assess risks and fight the fire aggressively, having provided for safety first. The fire managers are talking regularly with the Sherriff's office to ensure public safety. The fire has NOT reached the pre-determined points for changing any evacuation levels yet.
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