TROY — A half-inch or so of rain helped keep the Cougar Creek Fire in check on Tuesday, Aug. 13, as firefighters continued containment and mop-up work on the challenging blaze.

According to a Wednesday update, the fire, burning just north of the Washington state line, was mapped at 24,091 acres, a slight drop from Tuesday’s estimate of 24,096 acres. The update reported that the fire is 60% contained.

All evacuation notices triggered by the fire were lifted on Monday — including an area north of Troy that had been under a Level 2 (“Be Ready”) notice for weeks. And Grande Ronde Road, which had been closed July 15 from Troy to the intersection with Highway 129 in Washington, was reopened Tuesday.

In all, 353 people are working on the fire. Resources assigned to the blaze include six crews, three helicopters, 26 engines, nine water tenders and three pieces of heavy equipment.

Crews mopped up around the hand line and dozer line in the Saddle Butte area and continued to patrol fire lines where previous firing operations occurred on the west and north perimeters of the fire. Firefighters dismantled water-handling equipment, hose lays, and sprinkler systems around Misery Snow Park and the historic Wenatchee Guard Station and began removing structure wrap from buildings.

A new lightning-caused fire was detected near the south end of the fire and was quickly extinguished by firefighters working in the area, the update said.

Northeast Washington Team 1 took over command of the fire from Complex Incident Management Team Northwest 12 at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Firefighters on Wednesday were scheduled to continue mop-up operations along the west and northwest portions of the fire. On the south and east sides of the fire, crews will continue to backhaul remaining equipment and supplies. 

Temperatures Wednesday in the fire area were expected in the mid-70s to low-80s. Cooler temperatures and a chance of showers and thunderstorms are likley by Thursday, forecasts said.

Additional information on the Cougar Creek Fire is available at InciWeb and the fire’s Facebook page.