[pct-l] Stehekin Post Office, Boat Service Closed Due to Fire

[Tom Griffin]

This just came over the wire on Associated Press:

Wash wildfires: Stehekin residents wait to see if fire lines hold

09/12/2006

 Associated Press

STEHEKIN, Wash.--Firefighters began carefully burning out vegetation 
early Tuesday to protect this remote community from a wildfire that has 
been burning for nearly seven weeks on Lake Chelan's eastern shore.

The Flick Creek fire has blackened more than 11 square miles, or 7,301 
acres, since it was accidentally started by a campfire July 26. About 20 
firefighters were assigned to the blaze Tuesday, and a hotshot crew and 
other resources were expected to arrive later in the day, U.S. Forest 
Service spokesman Mick Mueller said.

Stehekin is at the north end of Lake Chelan at the foot of the North 
Cascades and is reachable only by boat, floatplane, horse or on foot. 
The area is a popular tourist attraction with numerous hiking trails.

About 100 people, mostly tourists, evacuated Stehekin during the weekend 
after authorities issued a mandatory evacuation notice for about 25 
homes and businesses. The evacuation closed Stehekin Landing, the main 
dock for boats, as well as the post office, a visitor center operated by 
the National Park Service and several rental cabins and businesses.

Firefighters began burning vegetation between the fire and the lone road 
that serves an estimated 60 residents at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday, Mueller 
said. Those residents remained under notice they might have to flee if 
the fire grows.

"It's not so much about fire front movement, and immediate threat to the 
homes. It's the road," Mueller said. "If the fire hooks around and cuts 
off the road, there's no other way out of there."

Regular ferry service to Stehekin was canceled Monday until the 
mandatory evacuation order is lifted. Lake Chelan Boat Co., which 
operates ferries on the lake, will run limited sightseeing trips that do 
not dock in Stehekin, business manager Cindy Engstrom said.

Tom Griffin
Seattle
PCT Pages: http://griffinte.home.comcast.net/pct.html




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