Destructive Wash. Wildfire Almost 50 Percent Contained

Firefighters made steady progress on Sunday in containing the Taylor Bridge Fire, though crews were wary of sporadic winds that sprang up in the northwest corner of the blaze.

By Sunday evening, the fire was 47 percent contained, with nearly 1,000 firefighters continuing to work on the scene. So far, 23,225 acres have been burned, according to incident management officials.

Early Sunday, officials were hoping for full containment by the end of today, but are now saying they should be 100 percent contained by the end of Tuesday.

Crews along the eastern flanks of the fire focused on mopping up by removing potential fuel and digging up hot spots around structures. The goal is to establish a 300-foot buffer zone from the outer containment line into the center of the burn

area, along the entire perimeter

of the area that's been contained.

Around structures, crews were working to mop up everything within a 500-foot radius.

"That's a pretty big task, and that will take quite a while for the crews to go in on every structure," said Kent Romney, an information officer with the incident management team.

Officials were concerned about possible thunderstorms going into Sunday's shift, but some isolated lightning early in the morning didn't cause any problems.

Firefighters were forced to postpone plans to do some burnout work along the northwest corner of the fire due to wind; they hope to resume their efforts today to burn away brush and dead tree limbs before the body of the wildfire reaches them, eliminating the blaze's fuel source.

Romeny said the "unsettled weather" that blew into the area kept them on their toes.

"The winds were kind of coming from every direction," he said. "We got some high gusts, so we thought it'd be better to hold off, and let the fire slowly burn down the hill to the existing containment lines."

That pushed the full containment date back a day. Containment efforts are still going full-force on the northwest section of the fire.

U.S. Highway 97 was reopened Sunday; it had been closed from the junction with U.S. Highway 10 up to the junction with U.S. Highway 970.

After today , the temperature should cool off and firefighters might get some rain in the form of thunderstorms to help them out, said meteorologist Ty Judd at the National Weather Service in Spokane.

"(Monday's) probably our last 'hotter' day for the week," he said.

The chance for thunderstorms will increase tonight and Tuesday, with the potential for rain sometime Tuesday, Judd said.

Winds are not expected to be stronger than 5 to 10 mph, he said.

For their part, firefighters are doing pretty well, Romney said.

"They're pacing themselves," he said, making sure they're hydrated and well-nourished and getting plenty of rest during their off-shifts.

"It does take a physical toll on people ... but the big heavy-duty initial attack phase is completed; now, it's finishing up containment and mop-up work," he said. "Spirits seem to be pretty good here at camp, particularly with the continuing outpouring of support from the community."

Copyright 2012 - Yakima Herald-Republic, Wash.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service