Wildfires force hundreds to evacuate

Wildfires burning across the Washington and Idaho forced hundreds of people to leave their homes Friday. Lightning strikes and aggressive winds delivered a one-two punch that forced fire evacuations in scenic Chelan, blinded highway drivers with dust and ushered smoke into Spokane from farway flames in Oregon. Even the Seattle area received a dose of wild weather as thunderstorms delivered drenching rains and turned back several flights. The National Weather Service reported more than 650 lightning strikes across Western Washington accompanied by hail, heavy rain and subsequent flood advisories. Department of Natural Resources spokeswoman Janet Pierce said most of the state was under a red-flag warning on Friday. The weather is expected to calm by today, but Spokane National Weather Service forecaster Bob Tobin said the smoke and dust carried in by the wind will likely stick around for a couple days.“We should see some improvement (Saturday),” Tobin said. “I don’t think it’s going to get a whole lot better.” On Friday Spokane County closed the Liberty Lake ORV Park until further notice because of the high fire danger. State fire mobilization was approved for the Reach Fire Complex near Chelan on Friday. The complex includes the Chelan Butte Fire, the Deer Mountain Fire and the Antoine Fire. The fire, which may have been caused by lighting, started early Friday morning. By Friday evening the fire was bearing down on the town of Chelan and 250 homes were threatened. Thousands of people lost power when two substations were brought down by the fire. Multiple evacuations were ordered and the Seattle Times reported that more than people living in more than 1,000 homes were under level 3 evacuations, which means they were urged to leave immediately. The Wenatchee World reported that the fire had jumped the Columbia River and also said that a warehouse in Chelan Falls and a home burned Friday.  The 37,000-acre Wolverine Fire continued to threaten Holden Village, the tiny Lutheran retreat in a valley near Lake Chelan. On Friday crews worked to improve the buffer created around the village. The fire is expected to continue up the Railroad Creek drainage. Campgrounds in the area are closed, as are portions of Shady Pass Road and Big Hill Road. The Stickpin Fire in remote Ferry County northeast of Republic exploded to 20,000 acres Friday and put hundreds of homeowners on alert that they should prepare to leave if firefighting efforts are unsuccessful. Those living on Boulder Creek Road and Long Alec Creek Road were told to evacuate. Deer-Boulder County Road 602 is closed. Over 500 homes are threatened. The fire is showing no signs of slowing, said Colville National Forest spokesman Franklin Pemberton. “This is about as bad as it gets,” he said. The Tower Fire burning near the Washington-Idaho border north of Newport grew to 1,800 acres and forced the evacuation of the Browns Lake, Skookum and South Skookum campgrounds in the Newport Ranger District. It was started by lighting on Tuesday. Lighting also started the Not Creative Fire burning four miles north of Rose Lake along I-90 in Idaho. The fire was estimated at 70 acres Friday evening a day after it started, but traffic problems have been reported as people on the freeway slowed to watch the fire. In Kamiah, Idaho, a collection of fires called the Lawyer Complex Fire grew to 11,000 acres and led to evacuation warnings in the area east of Lewiston, Idaho, along Highway 12. The entire town of Kamiah has been told to pack and prepare for evacuation and residents west of town have been urged to leave. South of Ritzville blowing dust led to a fiery crash that ignited brush along U.S. Highway 395 and closed the roadway for hours. Five separate multi-car accidents were reported in the area. There’s a fire burning 18,000 acres southeast of Mount Adams on the Yakama Reservation. Called the Cougar Creek Fire, it had zero percent containment as the state requested help from the National Guard. The Nine Mile fire near Oroville in Okanogan County chased hundreds of people from their homes and burned 10 to 12 structures. Two large fires in Oregon have burned through buildings and forced evacuations as strong winds pick up, sending guests of a resort fleeing. A fire on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in rural central Oregon exploded to more than 50 square miles Friday, forcing evacuations of a rural subdivision and a resort that had 400 guests booked Thursday night. The fire was expected to keep growing as strong winds push it through dry grassland. Sparks from a passing vehicle started the flames. And a giant blaze on the Idaho-Oregon border grew to 414 square miles Friday, scorching grassland ranchers need to feed cattle and primary habitat for sage grouse, a bird being considered for federal protection. The Owyhee County Sheriff’s Office recommended residents evacuate several drainages on the southern edge of the fire, and some roads were closed. In Glacier National Park a fire spread from just a few acres Sunday to more than 23 square miles Friday. It is uncontained in a remote area of the park, where it has forced some trail closures and is threatening two cabins, fire officials said.

Below is an earlier version of this report.

Wildfires burning across the Inland Northwest forced hundreds of people to leave their homes Friday. Lightning strikes and aggressive winds delivered a one-two punch that forced fire evacuations in scenic Chelan, blinded highway drivers with dust and ushered smoke into Spokane from farway flames in Oregon. Even the Seattle area received a dose of wild weather as thunderstorms delivered drenching rains and turned back several flights. The National Weather Service reported more than 650 lightning strikes across Western Washington accompanied by hail, heavy rain and subsequent flood advisories. The weather is expected to calm by Saturday. Department of Natural Resources spokeswoman Janet Pierce said most of the state was under a red-flag warning on Friday. The 37,000-acre Wolverine Fire continued to threaten Holden Village, the tiny Lutheran retreat in a valley near Lake Chelan. The Stickpin Fire in remote Ferry County northeast of Republic had burned more than 12,500 acres and put hundreds of homeowners on alert that they should prepare to leave if firefighting efforts can’t halt it. In Kamiah, Idaho, a collection of fires called the Lawyer Complex Fire grew to 11,000 acres and led to evacuation warnings in the area east of Lewiston, Idaho, along Highway 12. South of Ritzville blowing dust led to a fiery crash that ignited brush along Highway 395 and closed the roadway for hours. There’s a fire burning 18,000 acres southeast of Mount Adams on the Yakama Reservation. Called the Cougar Creek Fire, it had zero percent containment as the state requested help from the National Guard. And a wildfire ignited by a plane crash that killed two people in a rugged area of northern Washington state chased hundreds of people from their homes and burned 10 to 12 structures. Two large fires in Oregon have burned through buildings and forced evacuations as strong winds pick up, sending guests of a resort fleeing. A fire on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in rural central Oregon exploded to more than 50 square miles Friday, forcing evacuations of a rural subdivision and a resort that had 400 guests booked Thursday night. The fire was expected to keep growing as strong winds push it through dry grassland. Sparks from a passing vehicle started the flames. And a giant blaze on the Idaho-Oregon border grew to 414 square miles Friday, scorching grassland ranchers need to feed cattle and primary habitat for sage grouse, a bird being considered for federal protection. The Owyhee County Sheriff’s Office recommended residents evacuate several drainages on the southern edge of the fire, and some roads were closed. In Glacier National Park a fire spread from just a few acres Sunday to more than 23 square miles Friday. It is uncontained in a remote area of the park, where it has forced some trail closures and is threatening two cabins, fire officials said.