New Fires Flare Up As Wind Whips Northwest Most Holiday Weekend Campers Will Be Forbidden To Light Up

Brisk winds helped fan new fires Friday near Wenatchee, Goldendale and just across the border in Lewiston as firefighters continued their battle against Washington’s largest wildfire, the Timberline blaze near Omak.

A fire that started in dry grass and brush Friday afternoon in the hills north of Lewiston grew to an estimated 6,000 acres by evening, said Mark Swift of the Clarkston, Wash., fire department. The blaze was burning several miles east of the Washington border.

It was not immediately known if any structures were threatened.

Near Goldendale, in southcentral Washington, a fire reported Friday morning grew to about 500 acres by evening, fanned by high winds, said Joe Willinsky, a state Department of Natural Resources fire coordinator in Wenatchee.

Several homes were threatened by that fire, he said. Residences were being evacuated as needed.

“We’re having some difficulties with the upcoming holiday weekend rounding up folks to help fight the fire,” Willinsky said. “But we’re hopeful and confident we’ll get enough people to at least get it corralled by tomorrow.”

In Chelan County, in northcentral Washington, several homes were endangered by a blaze that started shortly after 1 p.m. near the Wenatchee city limits, at the base of Saddle Rock.

But winds pushed the fire away from the houses and up nearby hills, said Eric Tofte, deputy director of Chelan County Emergency Management. The fire, which spread to 75 acres by Friday evening, was being fought by 175 firefighters. There was no estimate on when it might be contained, Tofte said.

About 800 firefighters and support crews expected to contain the Timberline fire near Omak by Saturday evening, a week after it began on the Colville reservation in northcentral Washington.

Crews had scratched a trail around about 90 percent of the blaze, burning in the northwest corner of the reservation, spokeswoman Debbie Kelly said Friday. The fire has not grown in size for nearly three days, she said.

More accurate aerial measurements Friday pegged the Timberline fire at 18,300 acres. Increasing winds hampered containment efforts Friday afternoon.

Campfires and timber cutting have been restricted in northeastern Washington in hopes of preventing yet more fires over the Labor Day weekend.

U.S. Forest Service officials signed an order banning campfires in national forests and on state and private lands in the state’s northeastern corner, except in developed campgrounds.

The order signed Thursday came as thousands of campers headed to the woods for the holiday.

The Forest Service and state DNR also announced fire-related restrictions on timber cutting in the region.