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Big wildfire threatens resort town in Washington

Approximately 414 were at the Chelan Complex Fire, 479 at Wolverine and 200 more on various fires north of Chelan.

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Several large fires burning near Chelan have scorched more than 155 square miles (400 sq. kilometers), destroyed an estimated 50 homes Friday and Saturday and forced about 1,500 residents to flee.

More than 100 aircraft, 75 crews and 229 fire engines were being used to fight fires in Montana and Idaho, according to the center.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve had fires in these areas, and so were familiar with that”, said Oregon State Fire Marshal Scott Magers.

The House passed a bill last month to let the Forest Service use disaster funds when it drains its fire budget.

A red flag warning is in effect for parts of California, where four years of drought have made it easy for flames to spread.

One person died in Idaho while preparing to evacuate. It’s burned over 37,000 acres and destroyed 26 homes.

“It’s an eerie feeling to see cars burned to the ground, tractors scorched”, he said, describing the scene as he visited areas on the outskirts of Chelan that have burned.

The cause of the fire that began Thursday afternoon just east of the Cascade Range is still under investigation, but Archambeault said it started a few hours after a small plane crash that killed two people. Two buildings were destroyed and five people injured.

Meanwhile, Chelan County Sheriff Brian Burnett said the wildfires could continue burning for weeks.

Ten firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion, dehydration and minor injuries.

The fire as of Monday morning is burning in timber, hardwood slash and dormant brush. The fire was 25% contained with 860 people working to bring it under control, according to the national fire tracking website InciWeb.

The cause of the fire is unknown.

Lightning across northwestern Colorado is suspected of sparking about 30 fires over the weekend, keeping firefighters running from one blaze to another.

“It started early; I was over at the fire in Wenatchee that started in June”, Light said.

More than 700 firefighters have poured into the area, armed with air tankers dumping fire retardant, hoping to keep the flames from tearing down the popular tourist area. It destroyed 43 homes.

“Unfortunately for my sister, this is a bad, awful loss”, said Collins.

Wildfires have destroyed 50 homes in north central Idaho while a fire in north-central Washington had almost doubled in size by Sunday, fire officials said.

Voluntary evacuation orders were issued for people nearby. “We’re prepared for a certain amount of fire”, Johnson said.

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“There was nothing we could do – it was gone”, Canyon Creek resident Dean Fox told CNN affiliate KTVZ. “For us it means picking up additional hours here at the station, covering shifts”.

This California wildfire burned through homes in the southern part of the state in May 2014. This year fires are burning through about 1.1 million acres in seven Western states