Balsam Root Fire Narrow Escape 2024

Early on the morning of July 5, 2024, a task force of fire resources from western Washington prepositioned for initial attack in the Wenatchee area responded to a grass fire near Confluence Park. A plan was devised for the engine crews to construct indirect handline uphill over a distance of 550 ft, then install a hoselay back down as they fired the line. During line construction, a crewmember acting as a lookout noticed the fire had reached the bottom of the hill and soon after that fire behavior was increasing. The crew escaped uphill towards a fenced area with an irrigated lawn that was accessed by a gate. The lookout was the last through the gate, 25 ft ahead of the flaming front. There were no injuries. 

Narrow Escape, Initial Attack, Indirect Line Construction, Engines, RLS