All summer we heard about the Schneider Springs fire that consumed over 107,000 acres of wildlife land and all of it's devastation. This weekend I went and saw it for myself. Seeing it first hand was heart wrenching and truly devastating. I took a drive along Rattlesnake ridge on Saturday, about 16 miles outside of Naches and saw the disastrous remains of the land . So many burnt trees and brush, even the mud seemed to be charred.

On August fourth, a lightening storm consumed the area and when it struck it ignited a fire in the Schneider Springs area, approximately 20 miles northwest of Naches. It grew, and it grew very quickly. Between the steep terrain, heavy timber and dead trees, it made it difficult for land crews to access the fire. The fire burned for months, while fire crews from all over set up camp and worked tirelessly and slowly got it under control.

The last update from the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) was October 7 and it indicated that the fire had been 91% contained and the fire was in the mop-up and repair stage. Crews are no longer actively fighting the fire and they are rehabbing the hand lines and bulldozer lines. They predicted that the fire will continue to creep and crawl with the occasional flare up until the snow covers the ground.

I researched for any new updates but the latest I could find was from October. However, there are still road closures, so I would assume they are still cleaning up or there is still danger in those areas. Coming out of the mountains we did see a rainbow over the charred land and it looked to be very promising and comforting.

Thank you to all the men and women who helped control this fire and saved so many homes from devastation!

Schneiders Springs fire after math

 

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