Authorities late on Thursday ordered the population of Tonasket, a riverfront hamlet of about 1,000 residents just 25 miles south of the Canadian border, to flee their homes as flames closed in.
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Firefighters across Washington this week have grappled with a series of fires that have now become the worst fire season in the state’s recorded history.
Officials in Washington state hope an easing winds forecast for Saturday will allow them to get a better handle on severe wildfires that left three firefighters dead and have been so chaotic that crews haven’t been able to estimate how many homes have been destroyed.
Massive wildfires expanding across the arid state have so overtaxed firefighters that the federal government declared an emergency and state officials took the unprecedented step of seeking volunteers to help fight the flames.
As with the other fires burning in Washington, there was progress made Saturday on the Carpenter Road fire burning in southwestern Stevens County partly on the Spokane Indian Reservation.
Jackson Hotshots’ firefighters, from Jackson, Miss., stand with hands and helmets over their hearts as they watch a motorcade carrying the bodies of firefighters killed a day earlier while fighting a wildfire drive past Thur…
However, one of the firefighters injured Wednesday was admitted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on Friday night for treatment of burns. He was listed as being in critical condition, a nursing supervisor at the hospital said.
In all, 18 fires of at least 100 acres are burning in Washington, with more than 400,000 acres combined – 625 square miles – now scorched. Almost 800 firefighters were trying to beat back the flames.
The five-lightning caused fires have burned more than 95 square miles since August. 13.
Brown’s decision on Saturday comes days after she activated an initial 125 guard members, who began training in Salem on Saturday and were scheduled to be dispatched on Wednesday to the front lines.
Inslee’s office says fire engines are coming from Utah, Nevada, Arizona and Colorado.
More than 12,000 firefighters are battling 17 wildfires across California, including a quick-moving blaze in a popular northern recreational area that has led most of a church camp to evacuate. Pieces of foundation, charred metal pipes and a burned-out truck were all that remained.
No new deaths or injuries have been reported, Pechota said.
The Okanogan Complex includes the so-called Twisp River fire, which forced the evacuation of some 4,000 households in the towns of Twisp and Winthrop about 30 miles west of Okanogan in the foothills of the Cascades.
You are exclusively responsible for your comments and by using TribLive.com you agree to our Terms of Service. “With the high danger the firefighters are experiencing it is crucial we maintain our communications and power equipment and I appreciate the quick review of our request from our federal partners”. It’s the first time that the state has called for additional support from civilians. We can not treat them like experienced crews.
With so many local firefighters deployed hours away, many fire stations in different jurisdictions are working together to make sure their bases are covered. But these suggestions should be sent To avoid distracting other readers, we won’t publish comments that suggest a correction.
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