CHENEY, Wash. — Even though the evacuations have dropped for people that live around Williams Lake, firefighters say there is still a danger of hot spots sparking another fire.
Firefighters say that they aren't completely in the clear with lingering hot spots inside the fire zone.
The Williams Lake Wildfire is at 80% containment.
Crews are still working the area to secure containment lines and mop up within 300 feet of the fire.
Monica Brandner was one of the first residents of Williams Lake who had to evacuate due to the fire.
She is grateful of the firefighters.
"Honestly I'm running to all my windows looking outside like do I see anything,” said Monica Brandner, a Williams Lake resident. “So I think in the back of our minds it's always there. But I know we're in good hands. We still have a lot of firefighters that are out here that are taking good care of us."
With high temperatures and winds expected, there is still a danger hot spots could threaten another fire.
Ground crews are using infrared cameras at night to identify hot spots that might not be visible from the naked eye.
"We've had flights of the fire at night where they fly over it and it shows us where to look for hot spots. We've also had a crew out there with hand held infrared technology,” said Eric Keller, a public information officer for the Department of Natural Resources.
The wildfire did not burn any homes.
Homes and structures were the first areas that fire fighters secured when the fire broke out.
Fire crews are staying inside the fire zone to knock out any remaining hot spots.
Local resident, Don Cunningham said, "We've seen hot spots but the fire crews have been pretty diligent about getting them put out fairly quickly so let's hope it stays that way."
The fire crews at the incident fire center at Cheney Middle School have gone down almost 100 firefighters since the start of the fire.
And Keller says they hope to rely solely on the local fire departments starting on Thursday.
But, fire crews have been out around the clock due to the increased fire risk of high temperatures and wind.
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