Victim found dead in vehicle consumed by Chelan wildfire
A person was found dead in a vehicle within the Chelan Hills fire evacuation area over the weekend, according to the Douglas County sheriff's office.
While conducting a follow-up on a missing resident report for someone who lived within the affected fire area, deputies found a vehicle that slid off a roadway and was consumed by the fire, the sheriff's office said in a news release.
The remains were turned over to the county's coroner's office, but due to the state of the remains, interim Sheriff Tyler Caille said a positive identification "might take some time."
Authorities sent out Level 3 ("Go now") evacuation alerts, the highest level, over the weekend.
The Chelan Hills fire started just after midnight on Saturday, and state wildfire fighting resources were requested and approved by 4:30 a.m., according to the sheriff's office.
The fire, which is uncontained, has burned about 9,700 acres, according to the Western Fire Chiefs Association's fire tracker. It has destroyed at least 100 structures, Caille said Monday evening, a number he expects to go up.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but authorities believe it was caused by people. Caille hopes the fire won't expand any further, but he called attention to the red flag weather warning for Tuesday afternoon - the same conditions from the Fourth of July.
As of Monday, there were 43 engines, three crews, seven tenders and four dozers assigned to the fire. Air support is available as needed, and crews are focused on securing control lines while continuing structure protection efforts, according to a post from the Southeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team.
Caille said the sheriff's office is putting together assessment teams to look for residents who so far have been unaccounted for. He expects they will start sweeps Wednesday morning with search dogs to look for more possible human remains, but they need the ground to cool down.
The fire started 5 miles from Lake Chelan, a popular destination in Washington for the Fourth of July and summer recreation.
Caille said Lake Chelan was packed with boats, which affected aerial units that needed to dip into the water.
Neighbors helping neighbors
According to Caille, most fire districts in the area are volunteer responders. They were on the front lines responding to their own neighbors, and many crews worked 12 to 48 hour shifts in 90-degree heat before state crews relieved them.
"When we sign up for the job, we expect there's going to be days like this," said Caille. "I couldn't be more proud of the way my team responded."
Caille was born and raised in the area.
"I've traveled this road my entire life and I've seen this canyon grow," Caille said.
While responding to the fire, Caille drove his patrol car through a blanket of smoke and dust, dodging flames coming over the top of his car.
Houses that were fully intact just two hours before were engulfed in flames.
‘This is where the house stood'
Elizabeth Kirk, part owner of Mountain Spring Homestead, a 5-acre property off McNeil Canyon Road in the heart of Chelan Hills, showed the property damage from the fire in a social media post Sunday night.
"This is where the house stood; you can see the willow tree in the back," Kirk said in the video.
The camera panned to a pile of metal and ash, where she later recognized her teapot and cupcake pan. Kirk said they lost several goats and all their rabbits in the fire, but her family escaped safely.
"The local support has been amazing," Kirk said.
A Red Cross shelter has been set up at Chelan Elementary School.
"It's not the first time we've been through fires like this; it takes a long time to recover," Caille said. "In a lot of ways, you never fully recover from them."
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published July 6, 2026 at 4:48 PM.