In total, the blazes have scorched more than 155 square miles, forced about 1,500 residents to evacuate their homes and caused widespread power outages in the area.
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In central Oregon, after the Warm Springs Fire swelled to 50 square miles, fire officials briefly closed the main highway between Mount Hood and Portland, and a popular resort, Kah-Nee-Tah, evacuated 500 employees and guests, NBC station KGW of Portland reported.
Numerous structures remain threatened and evacuations, road, area and trail closures in effect.
Chelan -The Washington National Guard was mobilized to help fight six fires burning near Chelan.
But Sunday he was hoping lighter winds and cooler temperatures would help. Flames destroyed another 100.
“One of the biggest fears is that we still have potentially a month or more of this”, Burnett said, of the potential fire season ahead.
On the Idaho-Oregon border, about 800 firefighters had a 443-square-mile wildfire 70 percent contained.
The fires burned down utility poles, leaving 9,000 homes without power, officials said.
“The U.S. military has been a key partner in wildland firefighting for decades, and we greatly appreciate their willingness to provide us with soldiers to serve as firefighters”, said Aitor Bidaburu, chairman of the National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group.
In central Idaho, a 70-year-old woman died of a head injury on Friday when she fell while preparing to flee from the Clearwater Complex fires, which were spreading between the towns of Lewiston and Kamiah, the Idaho County Sheriff’s Department told the Idaho Statesman. The blaze has grown rapidly, with winds and a heavy load of bug-killed trees fueling its spread, according to DNR. It’s one of dozens of businesses and homes destroyed.
One of the fires in the complex was blamed last week for destroying a house and triggering the evacuation of several homes near the community of Wieppe, according to the Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office.
This map shows current wildfires burning in Oregon and Washington.
In California’s Angeles National Forest, 10 firefighters were evacuated with minor injuries.
Firefighters say the fires were pushed in multiple directions by erratic winds from passing storms.
The Wolverine Fire stayed within containment lines on the north and south ends of the fire Saturday night.
In addition, no huge runs like the ones seen Friday on some fires were reported.
Sunbathers in Chelan, a Washington beach town, saw helicopters dipping into Lake Chelan to get water for fighting blazes north of the lake.
Gov. Kate Brown used her authority Friday to mobilize fire crews from across the state.
If the fire escapes initial attack and grows to more than 100 acres and the National Preparedness Level is low, resources can respond to fight the fire.
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By early Monday, it had burned about 23,000 acres and was 65% contained.
