Fire leaders brief Entiat as Little Giant Fire expands

ENTIAT — Fire officials met with the Entiat community on Aug. 3 following a weekend of explosive growth for the Little Giant Fire.

The fire, located in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest 22 miles northwest of Leavenworth, surpassed 50,000 acres over the weekend. Fire Behavior Specialist Dennis Burns said the spread toward Lake Chelan was not one continuous fire front. 

“It's actually a whole bunch of spot fires — 1,800 acres here, 2,000 acres there, you know, 200 acres over there. Eventually, they are going to come together,” said Burns. “I equate [fuels-driven fire] to like a lava flow. It just keeps moving.”

Based on his experience with fire behavior in the area, Burns said it was typical to see slow, steady fire growth for six to seven days, then taking off due to a change in the atmosphere. Fire officials said they knew there was a small probability that the fire would cross Lake Chelan over the weekend, especially with the rise of a 30,000-foot pyrocumulus cloud, signalling erratic and extreme fire behavior. However, firefighters were faced with limited resources and challenging terrain and conditions.

“We did what we could,” said Operations Section Chief Kristian Litz. “We knew there was a short amount of chance of that happening, and it happened.”

With more communities under evacuation notice, including the north and south shores of Lake Chelan, Chelan County officials emphasized the importance of adhering to advisories and helping to notify neighbors, especially in areas where cell service is limited.

“I know we're looking at about 1,800 structures total that have the potential of being under threat. We do not want to lose any structures, but more importantly, we don't want to lose any people,” said Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison. “Residences are simply residences. It's the people that make it a home.”

Up to date evacuation advisories can be found on Chelan County Emergency Management’s website or Facebook.

Smoke outlook and air quality levels can be monitored by locating the North Central Washington/Little Giant outlook at wildlandfiresmoke.net, or by visiting wasmoke.blogspot.com. Residents who are aging, pregnant or have pre-existing conditions are especially vulnerable to smoke, as well as young children.

The Forest Service has implemented a broad forest closure to ensure unsafe areas are closed off to the public in the case of rapidly changing conditions. The broad closure also addresses the multiple access points to the forest. Updated closures can be found on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest website.

Updates for the Little Giant Fire can be found Little Giant Fire Information 2026 Facebook page and by visiting inciweb.wildfire.gov. Public information is also available via hotline, 509-776-6953, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., or by emailing 2026.littlegiant@firenet.gov.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media