Southeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team

10/19/2026

KAISER CANYON
INCLUDING MODRITE
Incident Commander: Chris Hutsell
Fire Information Phone: 509 -827-9610
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sewaimt/
UPDATE: October 18, 2026, AM
Kaiser Canyon: Start date of repair: 9/27/2026
Completed work: 80%
Area of fire: 1 Mile S of Nespelem, WA
Modrite: Start Date of repair: 10/02/2026
Completed work: 80%
Area of Fire: Near Inchelium, WA

The Southeast Washington Interagency Incident Management team has been on site at the Okanogan County Fairgrounds since September 27, 2026, managing resources doing suppression and repair work at both fire incident areas. The objective has been to complete enough work so local agencies can take over any remaining tasks before wet weather limits access to the landscape. Resources prioritized work on private property and in community areas. They graded and smoothed dozer lines to reduce flood and erosion risks near structures and removed hazardous trees to protect firefighters and the public. Crews are also taking steps to prevent soil erosion on steep terrain, while local Resource Advisors confirm that repair objectives have been met.
After discussion with Colville Tribes Agency leaders, SEWAIMT suggested that a smaller organization would be able to complete the remaining work. The agency leaders agreed that, given the progress made and the reduced number of hazards, local resources would be able to support any remaining suppression repair needs.

Effective October 19 at 7 AM, the SEWAIMT team will turn control of both incidents over to the two Type-4 Incident Commanders and demobilize any remaining unneeded resources to their home agencies. Each incident will have a Type-4 Incident Commander, 8 pieces of equipment, and 1 hand crew.

For questions or concerns about the work that has been done, please contact community
leaders at https://www.colvilletribes.com/
# # #

10/08/2026

UPDATE: October 8, 2026, AM
Kaiser Canyon:
Start date of repair: 9/27/2026
Completed work: 50%
Area of fire: 1 Mile S of Nespelem,WA

Modrite:
Start Date of repair: 10/02/2026
Completed work: 15%
Area of Fire: Near Inchelium, WA
Crews are maintaining a steady pace on suppression repair work with the goal of returning fire lines to near pre-fire conditions. The original request for the team was 14 days, but we have been asked to stay through October 18. The objective is to complete enough work that any remaining tasks can be returned to local resources before wet weather limits access to the landscape.
Hazard trees continue to be removed to keep firefighters safe and to make the area safer for the public when they return. Crews are also taking actions to prevent future soil erosion, and Resource Advisors are verifying that repair objectives have been met.
Repair work around the Nespelem community is nearing completion, and resources are working their way further around the perimeter. The pace may slow where fire lines cross roads, since equipment must be loaded and unloaded to avoid damaging the road surface.
Repair work is also progressing on Modrite, where resources have found more damaged areas than appeared on the original maps. The Modrite footprint has steep terrain and rolling debris requiring crews to proceed slowly.
# # #

10/06/2026

Even though a lot of wildland firefighters are hunters, or maybe because of it, they get excited when they get to see some of the wildlife they are trying to protect. Bears have been prominent at our work sites. They don't seem to care about the crews or the equipment, and of course the resources just want to watch them walk on by. Crews have also seen deer and raccoons; we even have rabbits and squirrels at the command post. We thought we would share.
The video of the bear walking through the trees has no audio.

10/05/2026

Repair work happening now is about recovery. Bare dozer lines funnel rainwater and can cause serious erosion and flooding, so crews install water bars and reshape the lines to shed water safely. The fire also left a lot of dead standing trees (snags) plus downed timber, which can fall without warning on firefighters, road crews, or anyone returning to the area. Taking them down and piling them is about making the ground safe again and keeping sediment and debris out of streams and off roads.

10/05/2026

repair update.
KAISER CANYON
INCLUDING MODRITE
Incident Commander: Chris Hutsell
Fire Information Phone: 509 -827-9610
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sewaimt/

UPDATE: October 4, 2026, PM

Kaiser Canyon:
Estimated Miles to repair: 171 miles
Estimated Repair Done:
Start Date of repair: 25%

9/27/2026
Area of Fire: 1 Mile S of Nespelem,WA

Modrite:
Estimated Miles to repair: 50 Miles
Estimated Repair done:
Start Date: 10%

10/02/2026

Area of Fire: Near Inchelium,WA

Crews continue suppression repair on dozer lines built during the fire. Hazard trees are being felled before heavy equipment moves in to repair those lines. Water bars are being installed where needed to prevent erosion, and Resource Advisors are verifying that repairs meet terrain standards. Repair work around the Nespelem community is expected to be complete tomorrow; some resources have already started repair work away from town.

Repair work has also started on Modrite. Crews are scouting the area to match the repair work map to conditions on the ground. The Modrite footprint has steep terrain and rolling debris, so resources are working slowly in this terrain.

# # #

09/30/2026

SEWAIMT is in Omak, WA. We are managing the repair assignment for the Kaiser Canyon Fire. People often ask what repair involves. We will leave it to Google/Siri to define it, but we thought we'd show you in pictures.
The first picture shows the dozer line, put in to create a break in the fuels and stop the fire's progress. This leaves the ground very uneven and usually has a dirt berm on one side, or both. During repair, we smooth out the dirt berms and level the ground back to pre-fire conditions as best we can, using excavators and sometimes hand crews. This lets the grass and brush grow back naturally, like the surrounding area.

09/29/2026

The Colville Tribe has asked the Southeast Washington Interagency IMT to continue the suppression repair work begun earlier this season for the Kaiser Canyon and Modrite fire areas. Team members began arriving on Sunday and met with agency leaders to review the scope and work needing completed. Resources began arriving on Monday afternoon and continued to arrive thru Tuesday.

Much of the repair work will take place on public and private lands throughout the Colville Agency, Desautel, Nespelem, Kartar, and Keller. Work will involve repairing dozer and hand lines used to contain the original fire. These resources will also remove hazard trees, restore fire lines to near pre-fire conditions, and install water bars to minimize water runoff into stream. Resource Advisors familiar with the local area will oversee the repair work. We appreciate the public's understanding as this work progresses.

Some resources are local contractors, while others are from across Washington, Oregon and California. The Southeast Washington IMT is anticipated to be operating for 14 days and will evaluate the completed work to determine whether the project needs to be extended at that time.

If you have any questions about the team, please call (509) 827-9610. Or Email- [email protected]

IC: Chris Hutsell

Colville Tribal Broadcasts, News and Information
My Storm and Fire Info

09/28/2026

A thank-you note from Benton County Fire Protection District No 2 and Benton County Fire District #4.

Benton County Fire District 4 and Benton County Fire Protection District 2, would like to thank; our local mutual aid agencies, Washington State Fire Mobilization, all of the resources from across the state of Washington that responded and the SE WA Incident Management Team for their support during the Second Street Fire.

This fire began Friday afternoon and was wind driven. It grew quickly and was difficult to manage because of its location. Life and property were our primary objectives during initial attack, ensuring no injuries or deaths occurred. We are grateful for the support of our local community. With heavy fire traffic, road closures, and the closure of our local park, your understanding and patience has been greatly appreciated and made the overall fire response efforts easier.

As the weekend comes to a close, all roadways are now open, and all evacuation levels have been lifted. Effective Sunday, September 27, 2026, at 6:00 pm, the fire has been turned back to our local fire districts. We will continue to monitor the fire and work on any remaining hot spots. The Benton County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation and will publish it once it is complete.

We anticipate visibility of a few smoke columns in the fire area over the next few days. If you see large columns of smoke outside of the fire area, please call 911. We are aware of the haystack smoldering out by the racetrack. We expect it will continue to burn and smolder for many days, but we are working with the property to manage and to mitigate the issue.

If you have questions about the fire, please contact us during business hours via our website, email or business phone line. Stay safe, stay vigilant, and again, thank you for your ongoing support.

09/28/2026

FINAL UPDATE: September 27, 2026, PM

Estimated Size: 1151 acres
Containment: 95%
Start Date/Time: 09/25/2026 around 2:40 PM
Area of Fire: Located in Benton County, Near Benton City
Cause: Under Investigation
Structures Damaged: Details are unconfirmed at this time.
Injuries: None reported

Update: The fire transitioned back to the local agencies at 6:00 pm today. Washington State Fire Mobilizing ended at 6:00 pm. The local agencies will continue working on the fire area. The Benton County Sheriff’s Department is the leading agency on the investigation. They plan to publish their report once it is complete. All evacuations have been lifted and there are no road closures.

Smoke: You can expect to see smoke columns over the next few days. If you see large columns of smoke outside of the fire area, please call 911. There is at least one haystack smoldering out by the racetrack. It will continue to burn and smolder for many days, but the property owner and the district are aware and are working to mitigate the issue. Air quality is expected to remain good. For smoke information specific to a particular location, visit the Washington Smoke Blog.

Weather: This evening will have cloudy conditions with lows tonight at 41 degrees. Wind will be North around 10 mph.

Resources: All Washington State Fire Mobilization resources have been released. Local resources will continue monitoring and remain in the fire area.