Washington braces for fire future
MAZAMA, Wash. – The battle against wildfires burning in Washington state turned into a bit of a waiting game Tuesday, as fire crews awaited word on whether a recent wave of lightning strikes sparked new fires.
Firefighters responded to more than a dozen small fires as a result of weekend dry lightning storms that released more than 80 lightning strikes in Washington alone. Even more lightning strikes sparked blazes to the south in Oregon.
Days could pass before authorities know if any more fire starts need to be doused, said Dan Eikum, assistant state fire marshal.
“You don’t realize you even have a problem until days later,” he said. “Weather forecasters are predicting more of the same for at least the next two weeks, and maybe the entire month, which is not good news all the way around.”
Gov. Chris Gregoire echoed that concern during her weekly news conference with reporters.
“We are, by no means, out of danger. In fact, we are in a very troubling period right now,” she said. “We remain concerned. Our resources are limited.”
More than 3,300 firefighters were assigned to the 10 largest fires in Washington, which have burned nearly 468 square miles across the state.
Montana
Firefighters used bulldozers and hand tools Tuesday to try to protect homes and slow the spread of a massive fire near Big Timber, but thick smoke from the blaze hampered efforts to launch a full-scale aerial attack.
A small fleet of helicopters and airplanes that have been dumping tens of thousands of gallons of water and fire retardant per day were pulled off the fire for a portion of the day Tuesday because officials were concerned about low visibility from the heavy smoke, said fire information officer David Daniels.
“We’re in an inversion, and the smoke is incredibly thick,” Daniels said Tuesday afternoon.
But for the first time since the Derby Mountain fire began two weeks ago, the fire had not grown significantly in the past 24 hours, which Daniels credited to “outstanding work” by fire crews.
The fire, which has destroyed 26 homes and 20 other buildings, remained estimated at 180,000 acres or about 280 square miles.
“We’re holding our own right now,” Daniels said Tuesday. “The major issue with this fire remains that west side. … We’re throwing a lot of resources at that today.”