Evacuations downgraded for Tower Fire near Priest Lake
Officials overseeing the Tower fire in Pend Oreille County escalated evacuations this afternoon as high winds made tracking the 29-square-mile fire difficult.
Firefighters were pulled from the fire as the wind storm began because of the fear of falling trees, said Pete Buist, spokesman for the crews fighting the fire.
The Big Meadow-Squaw Valley area in North Idaho near Priest Lake was put under a Level 3 evacuation order early Saturday afternoon, but the order was downgraded to a Level 2 evacuation late Saturday. A Level 2 notice means people should be packed and ready to go.
A level 2 evacuation alert was in place for the north Highway 57 corridor, including Nordman, but that was downgraded to a Level 1 late Saturday.
An information meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. tonight at Priest Lake Elementary School.
About 3:30 p.m. Buist said firefighters likely will soon had back to restart operations now that winds have died down.
Crews fighting the fire are stationed the Kalispel Indian Reservation, which is only a few miles from the fire.
Buist said as far as he knows, the fire has not entered Idaho, but it wasn’t yet clear how far winds may have pushed flames.