“When you’re actually in a fire – this is not a small grass fire, these are fires with flames 100 feet tall.” The fire, which has now burned 16,281 acres, grew 4,000 acres last night. “Three of our neighbors lost their homes, and quite a few structures just vanished”.
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The areas along the highway surrounding and behind Hearthstone Lodge are also under mandatory evacuations.
Chelan County sheriff’s Sgt. Kent Sisson told reporters Saturday.
Air Statistics: The two helicopters working on the Buck Horn and Canyon Creek fires yesterday dumped approximately 44,000 gallons of water on the fires. “We are definitely tasking all of the firefighters”.
“We have a limited number of resources, and all of the resources are 100 percent engaged and committed on these incidents”, said Eagle. “Competition for resources is extremely tight”.
The causes of the fires remain under investigation.
The TV station reported officials said at least 20 homes were destroyed, possibly more than 40. The fire is a series of seven fires that were previously named under the Fork Complex and Mad River Complex but have been split to provide fire managers and fire fighters better organization to manage the fires. There still are evacuations in effect. CalFire anticipates it will be another week before the fire is completely contained.
On the Kootenai National Forest, the Marston fire 15 miles southeast of Eureka was threatening the Mount Marston Lookout.
The northwestern region is expected to remain at the top Saturday, she said, as windy conditions did 6,500 firefighters no favors heading into the weekend. An outbuilding was lost and several homes are threatened.
UPDATE 3:50 P.M.: The Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee has declared a state of emergency because of the Lawyer Complex of fires at Kamiah.
Interstate 90 was not closed and drivers were being urged not to slow down to get a look at the fire.
Shelters were established at Sterling Middle School in East Wenatchee, The Entiat Valley Community Center in Entiat and Sterling Middle School in East Wenatchee.
A wildfire in a rugged area of northern Washington state near the Canadian border chased hundreds of people from their homes and burned 10 to 12 structures.
Counties that usually send only one team to a fire outside of their district are sending two teams to the Canyon Creek fire, Zoutendijk said. As a result of yesterday’s weather event, there is also a potential for new spot fires to be identified as the day progresses.
A lightning-sparked fire in the Helena National Forest northeast of Lincoln had grown to two square miles since Monday.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has declared that several fires in Washington and Idaho threaten widespread destruction and are eligible for federal funding.
The fires in Trinity County resulted in a call for mutual aid to not only firefighters, but also law enforcement. FEMA will pay 75 percent of firefighting costs but does not cover damage to homes or infrastructure. She said fires will continue to burn in the interior until the area receives heavy rain or snow.
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With 40-mph winds and multiple fronts on rugged terrain, the fire is proving hard to fight.
