205 W 5th Ave Ellensburg, WA 98926-2887
Monday - Friday 8 AM - 5 PM
Kittitas (pronounced 'KITT-i-tass') County is located in central Washington State. It spans from the lush forested Cascade Mountains to the upper Yakima River Valley plains and the Columbia River.
Kittitas County, WA - 08/03/2013 - 8/03/2013 - 3:45pm Evacuation Levels remain the same for Colockum Rd and upper Parke Creek Rd.
The Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office advises the Level 3 Evacuations will remain in place for the upper Parke Creek, upper Colockum and Secret Canyon areas today. The Sheriff’s Office is working with the fire team to evaluate these areas and determine when it is safe for residents to return home. Fire crews are attempting to back burn the areas at the end of Parke Creek Rd to the Power Line Road off of Colockum Rd. Easterly winds and steep canyons and draws are making the progression slow and difficult.
There have been no reports of structure loss in the evacuated areas at this time.
The Red Cross emergency shelter and the animal shelter at the Fairgrounds are on stand by and will be available if the need arises. Anyone from the evacuation zone needing either shelter should call the Emergency Operations Center at 509-933-8305 or Kittcom at 509-925-8534.
The fire team has set up a satellite camp at Kittitas Elementary School in Kittitas with about 400 firefighters and support personnel. The public can expect increased vehicle traffic for the duration of the fire, with the heaviest traffic in Kittitas during the hours of 7:00am-8:00am and 7:00pm-8:00pm, when fire crews are departing and returning.
As residents return to their homes, they may find their properties in disarray from fire protection measures that were put into place by fire crews in an effort to save structures. This includes but is not limited to cleared brush, displaced wood piles, and other combustible items moved away from structures. Kittitas Valley Fire & Rescue is offering assistance to any property owner within KVFR fire protection in the Cooke Canyon, Secret Canyon, Colockum and Parke Creek areas, when the evacuation order is lifted. Please contact Chief John Sinclair at 509-856-7714 or sinclairj@kvfr.org.
Residents affected by the fire can contact the EOC with questions or concerns, or visit the county website for updates and evacuation maps at http://www.co.kittitas.wa.us/. For fire information, please visit http://inciweb.org/incident/3567/, or contact the Colockum Tarps Fire at 509-662-9984.
Kittitas County, from the Cascades to the Columbia, and online at http://www.co.kittitas.wa.us
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Contact: Darren Higashiyama, Commander