Smoke chokes Valley

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Large swaths of the Upper Yakima County were enveloped in smoke Monday evening from a controlled burn east of White Pass.

"I was weeding out in my flower bed about 5 o'clock and the wind blew so much smoke, I can't even see the sun," said Evelyn Lane. "I thought maybe the fire was a mile away it's so bad."

The 90-year-old Gleed resident wasn't alone. From Moxee to Naches and all points between, residents reported heavy smoke starting around 5 p.m.

Yakima County emergency 9-1-1 operators said they received dozens of calls about the smoke.

Blame was placed on a fire intentionally set by Forest Service crews at about 2 p.m.

The 2,000-acre fire was ignited in the Bethel Ridge area to thin an overcrowded forest of thick stands of fir, bushes, fallen limbs and dead and sickly trees -- all of which pose a future threat of huge catastrophic wildfires.

A smaller fire, estimated at about 700 acres and believed to have been started by lightning, was burning in and near the Goat Rocks Wilderness south of Highway 12. However, Forest Service officials said that fire was not a major contributor to the smoke that rolled into the Yakima Valley. The smaller fire, dubbed the Twin Peaks fire, was about 90 percent contained by Monday night, Forest Service officials said.

Smoke from the larger fire poured into the Valley quickly, lingering for hours in some places and clearing out fast in others.

Esperanza Carrillo, owner of The Breakfast House in Tieton, said the smoke sped in and was gone in about an hour.

"It's clear now, you can't see any more smoke," she said, adding that the smoke had left by around 6 p.m. "I had no idea where it came from. You see smoke like that and ask yourself what could be burning."

Others were alarmed by the density of the smoke, especially given Saturday's spectacular log fire at a Yakima mill.

"It surprised me. We just got done with the Boise Cascade going up. At first we thought it was from there," said Cindy Brock of Selah, who said the smoke initially frightened her.

"I had a house fire about 10 years ago in the field behind us."

Brock also expressed concern for anyone with asthma or problems with breathing.

A similar worry came from employees at the Beems Nutrition store on River Road across the street from Chesterley Park.

Workers turned off the air conditioning and turned on a fan, said cashier Grace Briceno.

"It's a health hazard," said Briceno, who said she has a history of lung problems. "I'll be wearing a mask when I get outside."

"We're kind of used to it, after the mill caught on fire on Saturday. I just thought, 'Not again.' "

However, no problems were reported at emergency rooms at either Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital or Yakima Regional Medical and Cardiac Center.

Monday's smoke was the second time this month the controlled burn in the Bethel Ridge area has triggered complaints. The first time was about two weeks ago when Forest Service officials initially started the fire.

The burn of about 2,000 acres is expected to complete the 4,500-acre project, which began Sept. 15 when incendiary devices were dropped from a helicopter.

The 2,000 acres were scheduled to be ignited by helicopter early last week, but weather conditions weren't conducive for burning, according to Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest fire management officer Bobbie Scopa.

Controlled burns are part of the Forest Service's long-term plan to reduce the kind of fuels that would perpetuate a catastrophic wildfire while restoring forest health with the kind of midsize fires that have traditionally been part of the natural forest process.

Even if the Bethel Ridge project is completed today, though, that doesn't mean fire smoke will be done for the season. "Even if (fire managers) finish this up," Scopa said, "there will be more areas they need to burn."

Jim Duck, a coordinator at Central Washington Interagency Communications Center, which helps coordinate firefighting efforts, said he'd been getting plenty of calls from the Yakima area about smoke.

"We're expecting the wind to blow all the smoke all out of the area overnight," he said.

* Mark Morey contributed to this report.

* Melissa Sánchez can be reached at 509-577-7675 or msanchez@yakimaherald.com.

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