Chelan Fire and Rescue rapid response contains Dan Gordon Bridge blaze

CHELAN—Fast action by the Chelan Fire and Rescue 7 crews and equipment on Thursday night, August 8, kept a fire in the trees at the east end of Dan Gordon Bridge from evolving into a wider disaster involving nearby residences and businesses.

A call to RiverCom at 9:08 p.m. alerted the Chelan 7 station just blocks away near the west end of the bridge. Crews were on the scene within minutes of the callout and quickly contained the blaze.

Chelan resident Craig Kimzey was on his boat moored at Lakeside Marina and snapped a photo moments after the fire caught. 

“I was on my boat just chilling out with my back to the bridge when I decided to get up and turn around and sit in a seat facing where the fire was,” said Kimzey. “When I looked up, I saw the flames real high in the sky and was like, ‘Oh my gosh, what in the heck is that’?

Kimzey had the presence of mind to snap his photo when flames were well above the tree line and about the height of a sailboat’s mast near the slip where Kimzey was sitting.

“I took the picture at 9:10 p.m., and I happened to notice on the (Friday morning) police log that the fire was reported at 9:07 and about 9 seconds,” said Kimsey. “I took that picture about 50 seconds after they got the report. They hadn’t been able to respond with firetrucks yet.”

A second alarm alerted units from Manson (District 5), Entiat (District 8), and Wenatchee Valley (District 1), but initial details do not confirm whether any of those units arrived on the scene.

The cause of the suspicious incident remains under investigation. Chelan Fire Chief Brandon Asher could not be reached for further information at this writing. Further details will be reported as they become available.

Mike Maltais: 360-333-8483 or michael@ward.media