From the ground
What the community saw
After. Hundreds of acres burned black. Retardant lines visible where the fire was stopped.
Feet from homes. The burn line stopped here.
Retardant lines saved these homes.
Active crowning. Running through ponderosa.
Air tanker 183. Resources this district cannot provide itself.
One brush truck. Defending a property line while trees burn behind it. This is the ground reality.
Trees torching near Pearrygin Lake.
From someone's yard. The fence post tells the scale.
Helicopters at Pearrygin Lake -- helibase.
One firefighter, one hand tool, a big landscape.
The camera
77 frames from the McDuff time-lapse
A trail camera on McDuff Ridge. One frame every five minutes. It caught the whole thing -- from clear morning sky to a valley choked with smoke, helicopters, and DC-10 tankers.
drag to mark something
Winthrop, WAthe town
Goat Peakfire lookout
Fawn Peak6,512 ft
Studhorse Mountainwhere the fire will start
Pearrygin Lakestate park
Storm clouds. A flash of lightning.
Smoke.
Reported by Goat Peak lookout
Deputy requests
2 tankers + air attack
2 tankers + air attack
~$18k/hr · structures threatened .25 mile
Wind shifting — fire pushed southeast toward homes
NWS to dispatch: "strong NW wind shift within the hour"
DC-10 diverted to fire
9,400 gallons of retardant · 27k/hr
300 acres. It was half an acre three hours ago.
Nighttime approaches.
550 acres. 318 personnel. $500K.
550 acres. 318 personnel. $500K.
40 OCFD6 volunteers were there. Estimated — no reporting.
press play to start
Ignition.
The Studhorse Fire in 200 frames.
The Studhorse Fire in 200 frames.
watch the fire
slow
step
ICS-209 -- Initial report
By 10:45 PM that night -- prepared by Mario Gomez, approved by Lewis Jeter
550 acres
burned in one afternoon
5%
contained at first report
200
homes threatened
300
people evacuated
318
total personnel assigned, 3 agencies
Type 3
incident complexity
ICS-209 -- by the numbers
Initial report, 10:45 PM July 31
550acres
5%contained
318personnel
$500Kcost to date
200homes threatened
300evacuated
By Aug 2: 60% contained, mop-up phase. Final projected cost $1.75M.
The capacity argument
What this district had vs. what it took
Ground defense, first 63 min
4
2 DNR engines + 1 county sheriff + 1 DNR battalion chief
No air on scene until 4:21 PM. No dozer until 6:44 PM.
OCFD6 volunteers self-responded — not tracked in dispatch
No air on scene until 4:21 PM. No dozer until 6:44 PM.
OCFD6 volunteers self-responded — not tracked in dispatch
vs.
Studhorse Fire by 10:45 PM
318
total personnel assigned
78 resources (engines, dozers, crews, aircraft)
3 agencies (USFS, WA DNR, WA State)
11 aircraft overhead by dusk
78 resources (engines, dozers, crews, aircraft)
3 agencies (USFS, WA DNR, WA State)
11 aircraft overhead by dusk
OCFD6 is not listed in any ICS-209 resource table.
318 personnel from three agencies responded to a fire inside this district's boundaries. The district itself does not appear in the record.
Resources on Day 1 -- ICS-209 initial report, by agency
| Agency | Crew, Type 2IA | Dozer | Engine, Type 3 | Engine, Type 6 | Overhead | Tender, Water | Total Rsrc | Personnel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USFS | 4 | 20 | 4 | 100 | ||||
| WAD | 4 | 20 | 10 | 5 | 29 | 83 | ||
| WA | 40 | 10 | 5 | 45 | 135 | |||
| Total | 4 | 4 | 40 | 20 | 40 | 10 | 78 | 318 |
318 is the total personnel assigned to the incident per ICS-209 -- crews, engine operators, overhead (command, planning, logistics), dozer operators, and tender operators. Not all 318 were on the fire line. 40 were overhead alone.
Agencies explained: USFS = U.S. Forest Service (federal). WAD = WA Dept. of Natural Resources/DNR (state). WA = WA State (engines, crews via fire marshal mobilization). OCFD6 is not listed. The initial-attack units (E-7205, E-7206, SO-28, BATT-42) were all DNR or county. Local fire district resources either weren't tracked in ICS reporting or weren't formally assigned to the incident. [This is a gap in the record -- we don't know what OCFD6 or other local districts contributed. Ask Chief Accord.]
"State jurisdiction fire and trying to get state resources to manage the incident, working with Fire Staff of both federal and state agencies to free up federal IA resources."
ICS-209, Strategic Discussion, 07/31/2025 --
Cost escalation
The full arc
July 31 to August 4 -- all times PDT, from and
Reading the call signs:
E=Engine
SO=Sheriff
BATT=Battalion Chief
AA=Air Attack
T=Tanker
H/HT=Helicopter
K=Lead Plane
S=Scooper
Agencies: E-72xx, BATT-42, Fuels = WA DNR (state) SO-28 = Okanogan County All aircraft = federal (contracted) OCFD6 = not in the record
Agencies: E-72xx, BATT-42, Fuels = WA DNR (state) SO-28 = Okanogan County All aircraft = federal (contracted) OCFD6 = not in the record
Jul 31 -- 3:18 PM
Goat Peak lookout calls it in. Smoke visible in Bear Creek area. CWICC dispatches initial attack. E-7205 (DNR engine) and SO-28 (county sheriff) dispatched -- not yet on scene.
Jul 31 -- 3:25 PM
E-7206 (DNR engine) first unit on scene. "0.5 acre, finding access upper slope. Potential structures threatened." Ground defense = 1 DNR engine.
Jul 31 -- 3:35 PM
BATT-42 (DNR battalion chief) requests 20 engines for structural protection. "Structures immediately threatened .25 mile, life and property immediately threatened." Air attack ordered -- nothing overhead yet. On the ground: 2 DNR engines + 1 county sheriff. That's all.
Jul 31 -- 4:05 PM
20 acres. AA-9EB (air attack) inbound from Moses Lake. T-183 and T-184 (retardant tankers) dispatched but not yet airborne to fire. IC orders more dozers and scoopers. 47 minutes in. All air resources still in transit.
Jul 31 -- 4:21 PM
Air Attack overhead -- first air on scene. AA-9EB arrives 63 min after ignition. First aerial eyes over the fire. Ground crews have been defending structures alone. Reports 3 SOB, 4 hrs fuel, 30 min ETE.
Jul 31 -- 4:25 PM
NWS warns: "STRONG NW WIND SHIFT WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR." IC notified. 4 additional T2 crews ordered.
Jul 31 -- 4:42 PM
H-1MR (Bell UH-1) on scene with air attack. T-183 making retardant runs. Chief Accord notified by OKCO EMS.
Jul 31 -- 4:48 PM
Spot fire reported SE of Pearrygin Lake. Goat Peak calls it in. IC aware. AA requests 2 VLATs.
Jul 31 -- 4:51 PM
Black Hawk dispatched from Omak. HT-963NW (Sikorsky UH-60). 2 souls, 2 hrs fuel, 1 min ETE.
Jul 31 -- 5:02 PM
DC-10 VLAT T-912 diverted to fire. 9,400-gallon retardant capacity. K-9 also diverted. IP freq passed.
Jul 31 -- 5:39 PM
T-912 loading retardant at Methow. "3sob 3fob 20ete +AFF." DC-10 cycling. T-914 loading begins at 6:22 PM.
Jul 31 -- 6:06 PM
Fuels-41 on scene. First fuel management crew arrives. Ground force growing but still no dozer -- the one heavy equipment asset that cuts fireline. Dozer won't arrive for another 38 minutes.
Jul 31 -- 6:25 PM
300 acres. H-3HX (Bell 205) dispatched from Fishlake Helibase -- 6 souls, 2.5 hrs fuel, 30 min ETE. Fire update broadcast: "Acres 300, Type 3 Team on order."
Jul 31 -- 6:44 PM
Dozer (7250) on scene. Committed at 17:56, on scene at 18:44. 3 hours 26 minutes after ignition. This is the first heavy ground equipment. Until now: engines, hand crews, and air.
Jul 31 -- 6:54 PM
H-33HX on scene with air attack. Dispatched at 6:25, on scene 29 min later. Pearrygin Lake approved for scooping -- park is closed, should be clear of boaters.
Jul 31 -- 6:58 PM
488 acres. IC updates size. Five hundred acres an hour later. Fire grew from 20 to 500 acres in under 3 hours.
Jul 31 -- 7:31 PM
K-8 assumes Lead Plane. Beech King Air B200. AA-9EB departing after 3+ hours overhead. All aerial traffic now coordinated through K-8.
Jul 31 -- 7:32 PM
Four SEATs landing assured. S-422, S-423, S-424, S-426. Air Tractor AT-802s arriving from Wenatchee area.
Jul 31 -- 7:55 PM
Formal fire size up filed. 500+ acres, flame length 8-11 ft, slope 41-55%, wind NW downslope 5-10 mph. Strategy: full suppression. T-912 off fire, holding at Moses Lake.
Jul 31 -- 8:37 PM
All tankers departed. "Kilo 8 is also off and returning to Moses Lake." Scoopers S-283 and S-284 landing at Pasco. Air operations winding down for the night.
Jul 31 -- 10:45 PM
ICS-209 filed. 550 acres, 5% contained. 200 homes threatened, 300 evacuated. 318 personnel assigned (including 40 overhead), 78 resources. $500K cost to date. Road and trail closures. Cause undetermined.
Aug 1 -- morning
Command transfers to Ryan Nicholls, SEWA IMT Team 1. Fire backing and creeping. Rain arrives briefly -- "the effect was minimal and short-lived." Fuels still critically dry.
Aug 1 -- 5:00 PM
ICS-209 Update: 540 acres, still 5% contained. 325 homes threatened (up from 200). 570 minor structures threatened. 4 destroyed. Projected cost rises to $1.75M. 135 personnel.
Aug 2 -- 4:30 PM
543 acres, 60% contained. Fire behavior minimal -- creeping, smoldering. Mop-up operations. IR identifies isolated heat outside containment. 20 homes still threatened, down from 325. "No critical resource needs."
Aug 4
Anticipated containment and demobilization date. "No critical resource needs." Final cost: $600K to date, $1.75M projected.
When this story comes up
Five minutes at a board meeting
Your first board meeting -- March
Five minutes, co-presented with Chief Acord. The timeline plays. The numbers land. "This is what happened here last summer, and this is what our district had to work with."
Any Saturday at the grocery store
"550 acres in one afternoon. 300 people evacuated. We had four career staff and twenty-five volunteers across three hundred square miles. By the end of the night, three hundred and eighteen personnel were assigned to that fire -- crews, engines, overhead, aircraft. That's what a fire season looks like here."
When overtime comes up
$1.75 million projected cost for one fire, one afternoon. That's the scale of what lands on this district.
With the Chief -- this week
He was there. He managed the initial response with four career staff before 318 personnel were assigned across three agencies. Start from shared ground.