The seasonal firefighters employed by the US Forest Service died after their vehicle crashed and was overtaken by flames in the worst wildfire fatality incident in the state since July 2001.
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A Lake Roesiger firefighter sprays a flareup during the Okanogan Complex Fire in Riverside, Washingt …
More than 100 homes and dozens of outbuildings have been lost, but only one civilian death has been reported in the latest rash of fires – a 70-year-old woman who slipped and fell as she was securing her backyard chickens before fleeing her Idaho home last weekend.
Officials have been warning that strong winds were complicating firefighting efforts.
It came hours after a mandatory evacuation was ordered for the town of Tonasket as wildfires fanned by high winds raged out of control. Residents of those towns can return to their homes but were warned to be ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice.
Previous year the federal government approved an emergency declaration for the Carlton Complex fire in Central Washington, but rejected the subsequent disaster declaration.
The order covers 11 counties in central and eastern Washington as well as the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, the Kalispel Tribe of Indians, the Spokane Tribe of Indians, and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakima Nation.
Fire spokesman Rick Isaacson said early Friday that the wildfires have grown to just over 252 square miles since Thursday morning. A 60 square mile fire near Kings Canyon National Park, east of Fresno, prompted the evacuation of than 2,500 campers, hikers, employees and residents this week alone, according to The Associated Press.
Isaacson says even the fire base camp in Okanogan has been told to be prepared to evacuate.
The Okanogan Complex includes the so-called Twisp River fire, which killed three firefighters on Wednesday night after forcing 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.
Earlier this week, the governors of Oregon and Idaho joined Washington state in calling up state National Guard troops backed by military aircraft to help combat blazes.
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For the first time in state history, Washington’s department of natural resources (DNR) is accepting volunteers to assist with fighting fires and to donate equipment. Volunteers could start applying Friday at centers in the communities of Omak and Colville.
