Methow Valley town evacuated as fires grow

A north-central Washington sheriff issued an urgent evacuation notice late Thursday for the wildfire-threatened small town of Pateros and officials were also evacuating a hospital in a nearby town, authorities said.

Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers issued the evacuation notice for the town of Pateros and a hospital in nearby Brewster, county sheriff’s dispatchers confirmed. Pateros has a population of about 650 people and Brewster is home to about 2,400.

The area is threatened by a fast-growing cluster of wildfires known as the Carlton Complex, which has burned across at least 28 square miles of the scenic Methow Valley.

Scott Miller, the county’s emergency manager, said homes have been lost. Authorities earlier Thursday confirmed the fire had burned at least two homes.

No deaths or injuries have been reported, Miller said.

Fire spokesman Tim Perciful said Thursday night he had no new acreage figures for the fire complex.

“Our personnel have been so busy they’re not able to get back to us quickly,” he said from an incident command post where the electricity was out Thursday night due to the fire.

There is zero containment on the fire complex growing in high temperatures and gusty winds.

Several highways in the area were closed late Thursday, including a portion of U.S. Highway 97.

Elsewhere across the West:

• OREGON: Two different lightning-sparked wildfires grew quickly in hot and dry conditions in central Oregon on Thursday, prompting evacuation alerts.

Authorities said the Bridge 99 fire in the Cascade Range 20 miles north of Sisters tripled in size and threatened rural homes along the Metolius River. A top-level evacuation advisory urged residents to leave their homes immediately.

In the Ochoco Mountains about 20 miles east of Prineville, the Bailey Butte Fire grew after getting into heavy timber in a wilderness area, prompting the Crook County Sheriff’s Office to advise residents of 27 homes to leave.

• IDAHO: In central Idaho, the lightning-caused Preacher fire has scorched more than 50 square miles, burning quickly through grass and brush. More than 300 personnel have been called in to suppress a wildfire inside the Boise National Forest that tripled in size overnight and is steadily spreading. The lightning-caused Whiskey Complex Fire consumed 7 square miles of forest land as of Thursday.

• CALIFORNIA: Evacuation orders have been called off for several rural homes in Northern California as firefighters took advantage of cool, moist conditions. Some residents near the destructive fire in Shasta County have been advised they may need to evacuate again. The blaze has burned more than 10,000 acres, or nearly 17 square miles. Marijuana-growing activity led to the fire starting Friday, authorities have said. California fire officials say a body has been found in the area. Authorities say it looks like the victim was trying to flee the fire.