Yesterday afternoon there was a good-sized plume of smoke rising from Manatash Ridge just over the top of the ridge as viewed from I-90. The smoke was being carried by strong west winds. It is possible that there is a controlled burn - but would they do that when windy - it is too large for simply burning slash. There were also some lightning strikes in the past few days.
It is very dry in Eastern Washington right now (and Western) and the snowpack is very shallow as evidenced by views of the Teanaway and Stuart - good sized areas of exposed dirt in the former and talus visible high on Stuart.
Looks like there were some prescribed fires yesterday, but the locations sound different from what you described.
Posted on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest Facebook page yesterday:
Quote:
Burn Alert: We're planning 272 acres of #GoodFire today in the Methow Valley, Chelan, and Cle Elum areas.
1. Methow Valley Area: 110 acres 8 miles northwest of Winthrop, WA. Smoke is anticipated to disperse to northeast throughout the day and will be highly visible from Highway 20 in the area.
2. Chelan Area: 137 acres 18 miles northwest of Chelan, WA. Smoke is anticipated to disperse to the northeast throughout the day.
3. Cle Elum/Liberty Area: 25 acres 17 miles northeast of Cle Elum, WA. Smoke is anticipated to disperse to east throughout the day and will be visible from Highway 97 in the area.
There is a controlled burn happening in the north end of LT Murray/Joe Watt area close to Taneum. In local FB posts I'm seeing "Hutchins" mentioned, which would make sense if it's happening off Hutchins road in there.
FYI it sounds like the Forest Circus is making a push to do more active forest management in the Taneum over the next few years, which is badly needed as it's been hit hard with insect damage and a lot of fuel has piled up. I'm hoping there will be more controlled burns in the area, because the alternative will probably be catastrophic fire instead.
The good news: It looks like there's been a lot of thinning et al in Joe Watt over the last decade or so, so if something gets started up there they might have a chance of getting ahead of it. That area seems like a magnet for lightning so.... yeah, good idea!
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate NWHikers.net earns from qualifying purchases when you use our link(s).