MOSES LAKE – The two largest fires in the state, the Lower Sugarloaf Fire and the Labor Mountain Fire both had growth in acreage and containment this week.  

The Lower Sugarloaf fire grew nearly 2,000 acres from Tuesday bringing the blaze up to about 43,000 acres. However, containment also went up from 55% Tuesday to 77% as of Thursday.  

The Labor Mountain Fire grew nearly 1,000 acres from Tuesday. Containment saw improvement though going from 7% containment Tuesday to 15% containment Thursday.  

Blewett Pass, near the Labor Mountain Fire, reopened Tuesday afternoon, according to a statement from the Washington State Department of Transportation. Blewett Pass had been closed due to the fire since Sept. 21, said Sebastian Moraga, communications specialist for the Washington Department of Transportation.  

As of Thursday, around 124,000 acres are actively burning across the state, according to Inciweb.  

The fire season is starting to come to an end, according to Department of Natural Resources Public Information Officer Ryan Rodruck. Western Washington has had a “season ending precipitation,” however, central and eastern Washington is still waiting for the same.  

“We’re still going to continue to see some dry conditions on the land,” Rodruck said. “Through this week, temperatures are moderating, which is a good thing, but what we’re not seeing with that moderation and temperature is any kind of significant precipitation. Until we see that season-ending precipitation event move through eastern Washington, there will still be initial attack activity.” 

This year’s fire season is below the 10-year average for acreage, which is nearly 467,000 acres. However, the state is up on the number of ignitions with an average of about 1,600. As of Monday’s updated counts, there have been about 1,800 ignitions which have burned around 245,000 acres, Rodruck said. However, these counts don’t include active blazes that are still growing, such as the Lower Sugarloaf Fire, Rodruck said. 

These fires were causing air quality concerns regionally. As the Columbia Basin goes into the weekend.  

To look at the current air quality in the area, visit AirNow.gov.  

Three largest fires:  

Lower Sugarloaf: 42,933 acres. 77% contained. Chelan County. Started Sept. 1. Lightning-caused. 

Labor Mountain: 40,736 acres. 15% contained. Kittitas County. Started Sept. 1. Lightning-caused. 

Bear Gulch: 20,233 acres. 5% contained. Mason County. Started July 6. Human-caused. 

Other fires:  

Martin: 388 acres. 67% contained. Chelan County. Started Aug. 27. Under investigation.   

Pomas: 3,618 acres. 64% contained. Chelan County. Started June 13. Lightning-caused.    

Tunnel Creek: 590 acres. No containment. Jefferson County. Started Sept. 6. Unknown cause.  

Wildcat: 15,523 acres. 5% contained. Yakima County. Started Aug. 25. Under investigation.  

Air quality:   

Air quality labels are decided by the air quality index number. The Columbia Basin is starting to see an improvement in air quality with most areas having good or moderate air quality.  

Ephrata –Thursday: moderate. Friday: moderate. Saturday: moderate. Sunday: moderate. Monday: good.  

Moses Lake – Thursday: good. Friday: moderate. Saturday: moderate. Sunday: moderate. Monday: good.  

Othello –Thursday: good. Friday: moderate. Saturday: good. Sunday: moderate. Monday: good.  

Quincy – Thursday: good. Friday: moderate. Saturday: moderate. Sunday: moderate. Monday: good.  

Ritzville – Thursday: good. Friday: good. Saturday: good. Sunday: good. Monday: good.