The Jackass Butte fire looks completely contained, according to Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers around 9:30 this morning. Hot spots are still flaring up, but the fire is no longer the main problem.
     The dispatch tower on the top of the butte has not been damaged, but the lines bringing power to it have been burned out, Rogers said. All night long, dispatch and 911 have been running on batteries.
     This morning, those batteries ran out.
     Now, crews are scrambling to get generators to the tower. Rogers said people can still call in to 911, but dispatch cannot use the radio. They will have to contact officers direct by cell phones.
     According to Rogers, the fire grew to about 1,500 acres. One outbuilding was destroyed in the south end of the fire, but no injuries occurred.
     Rogers said the fire went fast, burning high and intense, causing "mayhem for a couple hours." But after those hours, he said the fire died down.
     After a transmission structure was lost on the Loop line around 8:20 p.m. last night, Okanogan County PUD chief engineer Derek Miller said power was lost to Twisp, Winthrop, Malott and south Okanogan.
     Some switching had been done to bring power back to Brewster Flats and Okanogan customers, Miller added. Because of the fire, crews could not access the line. They isolated the south Okanogan, Brewster Flats and Malott outages to the Malott area.
     Crews were finally able to get in to repair the line at 2:45 a.m., Miller said. Around 7:45 a.m., power came back to all customers.
     Miller added that power would not have gone down to Twisp and Winthrop if the redundant Pateros to Twisp line, proposed by the PUD years ago but challenged by various groups, had been built.
     More crews are working on lines for Jackass Butte, including six poles that have been damaged that go to their wireless tower, Miller added. Their Telecom tower on the butte has not been damaged, but has been de-energized, he said.
     Crews are testing the fiber line itself was damaged, Miller said.
     A total of 7,000 customers lost power for both PUD and the Okanogan County Electric Co-op through the night because of the fire. Miller said the Nespelem valley lines do not appear to be damaged.
     The pole fire near Okanogan on Glover Lane has been repaired, and was repaired just as power went out because of the Jackass Butte fire, Miller added.
     The fire at Rattlesnake Point has not damaged any lines or poles, so no power has gone out due to that fire, Miller added. Crews circled the poles with water and dirt to protect them.