Sinlahekin Fire Eclipses 100,000 Acres, Now 5% Contained As More Structures Assumed Lost

Firefighters have finally gained a modicum of containment over a destructive wildfire that's been burning in Okanogan County for just over a week.

The Sinlahekin Fire sparked on July 26 about 12 miles west of Tonasket, and has since grown to a current estimated size of 102,934 acres with 5% containment, as of Tuesday (Aug. 4) morning.

The fire has enlarged by almost 90,000 acres since late last week and saw explosive growth over the weekend in gusty winds under a Red Flag Warning that also created a wealth of new Level 3 Evacuation Notices from Tonasket to the Canadian Border.

Some of those elevated notices have now been downgraded to a Level 2 status, especially from the Ellisforde area north to Oroville, as firefighters have managed to halt the rapid spread of the flames to the south of Loomis-Oroville Road.

Crews are also battling to keep the fire at bay to the east of Spectacle Lake, and to the north of Fish Lake and South Pine Creek Roads on its southern edges.

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The inferno pushed over Tillman Mountain, Palmer Mountain, and Quartz Hill on Monday, as aerial resources did their utmost to douse the flames with water and retardant, and crews on the ground continued forging containment lines and worked to protect structures.

Officials with Okanogan County Emergency Management confirmed on Saturday (Aug. 1) that at least two structures have been destroyed by the fire, but public information officer Isabelle Hoygaard with California Fire Incident Management Team 4 assured KPQ News that number is now much higher.

Although Hoygaard was not able to provide an updated tally of how many structures have been lost, she commented that from a number of vantage points near to where the fire has burned, it is clearly visible that numerous structures have been destroyed.

Smoke impacts from the blaze have been widespread and greatly reduced air qualities in nearby communities like Chesaw, Ellisforde, Havillah, Loomis, Molson, Nighthawk, Oroville, and Tonasket, in addition to as far away as locations in Southern British Columbia and Northern Ferry and Stevens Counties.

Thus far, the fire has produced no reports of any injuries or fatalities.