State makes unprecedented call for volunteers

Fire officials continued to scramble from emergency to emergency Thursday as numerous giant fires pushed by gusty winds scorched the landscape.

A blaze in southwestern Stevens County doubled in size, forcing evacuation of a wide area.

And late in the day, officials called for the evacuation of another whole town. This time, Tonasket.

The situation is so severe that state leaders announced they are taking the unprecedented step of asking for volunteers to assist the Department of Natural Resources’ firefighting effort.

Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers said fire is all around Tonasket and Okanogan.

“We’ve definitely got fires everywhere,” he said. “It’s just crazy up here. That’s the biggest problem. We don’t know where it’s coming next.”

Residents in the towns of Omak and Okanogan were advised to be packed and ready to go.

Stevens County

On Thursday, Erma Johnson, her husband Ron and family friend Dee Carper evacuated from their home off Springdale-Hunters Road. Earlier in the day, fire crews trimmed their shrubs and set up a sprinkler pointed at their house.

“They were just great,” Carper said of the crews.

The Johnsons were just a few of the roughly 200 people evacuated Thursday in the face of the Carpenter Road fire.

As they evacuated, fire crews continued to build lines and protect structures. Capt. Greg Anderson of Spokane County Fire District 9 was with a structure protection crew on Allen Road, off Springdale-Hunters Road. His team’s primary focus was protecting structures, which meant clearing brush and hosing down homes.

“It’s been a long summer, and it’s not over yet,” Anderson said.

Anderson’s team is just part of the larger effort to contain the fire, which nearly doubled Wednesday night. Erratic winds stoked concerns and prompted evacuations along Springdale-Hunters Road.

“If you look at the fire of 1910, it’s lining up to be that kind of year,” Anderson said.

Fire spokesman Randall Rishe said cooler conditions allowed firefighters to make some advances. It is now 5 percent contained. No structures were lost during the day. However, he stressed conditions were still critical. The majority of the activity centered on the northern edge of the fire, near Turk Road.

“Our firefighters are working feverishly to get a handle on this fire,” he said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, 205 civilians were evacuated; however those numbers likely increased significantly with more evacuations in the afternoon and evening.

There are 363 personnel fighting the fire, with more on the way, Rishe said.

“It’s dangerous,” he said. “The weather is variable.”

Suzy McVay, who works at Springdale Grocery and Hardware, said many people who live in evacuated areas were in Springdale on Thursday hoping to get back to their homes to take out more valuables. But they were turned back.

“There are quite a few people with trailers and cars all stacked up around town,” she said. “There are a lot of panicked people.”

Tonasket

The Okanogan County Emergency Management Office issued an immediate evacuation notice to Tonasket residents and said residents should head south on U.S. Highway 97 to go to the Red Cross shelter at Brewster High School.

Other evacuation orders were given to all residents within 10 miles east of Tonasket and south of Havillah Road, all residents within 10 miles west of Davis Canyon south of Spring Coulee Road near Okanogan, as well as all of Chiliwist.

State Highway 20 was closed between Tonasket and Aeneas Valley Road.

Emergency Management spokeswoman Kris Rietmann said several fires were burning in the area. The Lime Belt fire is west of Okanogan. The Tunk Block fire, east of Tonasket, jumped Highway 20 and is headed north, Rietmann said.

Both fires are part of the Okanogan Complex of five fires, which also includes the Twisp River fire that forced the evacuation of Twisp and Winthrop on Wednesday. A total of 96,000 acres have burned.

“We’re sure it’s gone well over 100,000 today,” fire information spokesman Rick Isaacson said Thursday evening. “All of them have been active because it’s been breezy off and on.”

The winds have been shifting, making fire growth and direction unpredictable.

“Last night was a hell storm, and they’re anticipating tonight could be the same thing,” Isaacson said.

Twisp

Many businesses were open Thursday in Twisp despite evacuation orders still in place.

“The people who stayed are carrying on,” Twisp City Councilman Dwight Filer said.

He and his wife packed their cars Wednesday night, but they stayed – their cars remain ready to go.

Filer said the fire threatening Twisp made it to the top of the ridge overlooking the town and started heading down the hill.

But firefighters set a back fire, which has created a gap between the fire and city limits.

The Twisp City Council met Thursday and declared an emergency.

Filer saw firetrucks in town from Seattle, Gig Harbor and Snohomish County.

“There were fire rigs from all over the state today,” Filer said. “It’s pretty reassuring to have these guys here.”

Washington volunteers

For the first time in state history, the Washington state Department of Natural Resources is asking citizens to volunteer their time and equipment to fight the dozens of fires burning across the state.

Dispatch centers have been inundated with offers of assistance, according to a DNR news release.

“If people want to help, we’d like them to contact our coordinators so we can work on getting them safely and appropriately involved,” Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark said in the news release.

Those who are interested can contact one of two coordination centers beginning at 7 a.m. today. “Red Card” firefighters and “Blue Card” heavy equipment operators are preferred. Training sessions will be held for those not currently qualified to work on a fire line.

People can call in or email their information for review. The first center will be at Omak City Hall: (360) 826-2546 or CRC.Omak@gmail.com. The second center will be at the Washington Department of Transportation office at 440 N. Highway 395 in Colville: (509) 675-7847, CRC.Colville@gmail.com.

North Idaho

The Bonner County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents near Priest Lake to keep up-to-date on the progress of a nearby fire and asking that only local residents drive on state Highway 57 north of Priest River, which is the only way to access Priest Lake by car.

The Tower fire burning near the Washington-Idaho border has grown to 8,695 acres and is active with tree torching. More than 30 homes and outbuildings are threatened.

While some of the fire is in the Idaho Panhandle Forest, the fire has not crossed the state line into Idaho, fire spokesman John Cambra said. However, Priest Lake is close to the border in the area where the fire is burning and most of the fire’s recent growth has been toward the lake.