Wenatchee-area fire 80 percent contained

WENATCHEE – About 300 firefighters worked Monday to contain a wildfire that damaged several homes and outbuildings and scorched 8 square miles in north-central Washington.

The Easy Street fire was 80 percent contained by Monday night with full containment expected late today, said Greg Thayer, a spokesman for fire command headquarters.

Fire crews had put the fire’s size at about 6,800 acres, but more accurate GPS mapping obtained late Monday showed the burned area at 5,209 acres, Thayer said.

“It was a very quiet day; the fire didn’t move anywhere,” Thayer said.

At least three outbuildings were destroyed and several houses were damaged.

Firefighters shifted their emphasis Monday from protecting homes to fortifying fire lines at the north end of the blaze, which burned through grass, farm fields and brush in Warm Springs Canyon, about three miles northwest of Wenatchee.

The cause of the fire, which started Saturday afternoon, was believed to be fireworks. Chelan County Sheriff Mike Harum said that a man playing with fireworks near the Highline Canal may have started the blaze and could be arrested for investigation of reckless burning.

Meanwhile, to the north in Okanogan County, the Little Chopaka fire had burned 2.5 square miles about 10 miles northwest of Loomis, near the Canadian border.

Five homes in the remote area were under evacuation orders Monday, but no injuries or structure damage had been reported, fire spokesman Doug Jenkins said.