An hour later, it was confirmed that the victims died. “The fire was racing and the winds were blowing in every direction and then it would shift….” Lack of government funding to US forest Service Republican Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch of Idaho and Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon have been pushing for firefighters to be allowed to use dollars set aside for natural disasters to alleviate the lack of money for fighting these fires. “I know all Washington joins me and Trudi in sending our prayers to the families of these courageous firefighters”, wrote Inslee.
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The fallen firefighters were responding to a raging fire that has prompted evacuations near Twisp in Okanogan County, about 115 miles northeast of Seattle.
As many as four other firefighters were injured.
Fourteen homes threatened by fire were being evacuated Wednesday in northwestern Montana’s Kootenai National Forest. “And the winds are still blowing”. Shelters say they’re having a hard keeping up with the number of evacuees.
But fire managers have little choice this year. Among them are the Okanogan Complex, map located HERE.
The Chelan Complex was 50 percent contained on Wednesday and more than 1,100 firefighters continued to build containment lines and protect structures, officials said.
Inslee, in requesting federal disaster relief funds, said fire threatens 11 counties and the lands of four Native American tribes.
The blaze apparently was sparked about five miles outside of Twisp off the Twisp River Road, Okanogan County Fire District 6 Chief Keith Comstock said.
Drought and heat have combined to make this one of the most active fire seasons in the Lower 48 in recent years.
Washington now has 23 wildfire incidents that have scorched more than 365,000, according to the InciWeb incident information website.
Arguments have also been made for decades that more logging to remove trees and grazing by livestock to mow down grasses could remove fuels that would otherwise burn.
It only takes a single flame to lead whole swaths to burn – a cigarette, a smoldering extinguished campfire, a ricocheting bullet.
Firefighters focused their efforts Wednesday on the west side of the Chelan fire, trying to prevent it from crossing Cooper Ridge, and heading toward another nearby blaze named the Black Canyon fire, Wisehart said.
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The Rocky Fire burned nearly 70,000 acres, or 109 square miles, in Lake, Yolo and Colusa Counties over 16 days until August 14.
