Fires erupt across Northwest

Lightning strikes and aggressive winds Friday afternoon in Washington and Idaho delivered a one-two punch that forced fire evacuations in scenic Chelan, Washington, blinded highway drivers with dust and ushered smoke into Spokane from faraway flames in Oregon.

The chaos was especially intense in Chelan, which was surrounded by fire, and Orofino, Idaho, where officials were scrambling late Friday.

“We understand there are parts of the fire in the city limits,” said Clearwater County Commissioner Don Ebert. “We don’t know how big it is.”

Ebert and his fellow commissioners were in their office in Orofino late Friday, trying to do anything they could to help. Resources are stretched thin because of all the fires in Idaho, including one south of Orofino near Weippe.

“I believe they’re doing the best they can, but they need to get headed this way in a hurry,” Ebert said.

A Clearwater County sheriff’s dispatcher said the fire was spreading fast Friday evening. Residents on Upper Fords Creek Road, Cascade Drive and Harmony Heights Loop were told to evacuate. The Clearwater Power Co. reported that 900 residents were without power, but that crews could not reach a substation because of the fire.

Even the Seattle area received a dose of wild weather as thunderstorms delivered drenching rains and turned back several flights. The National Weather Service reported more than 650 lightning strikes across Western Washington accompanied by hail, heavy rain and subsequent flood advisories.

Department of Natural Resources spokeswoman Janet Pierce said most of the state was under a red-flag warning on Friday.

The weather is expected to calm by today, but Spokane National Weather Service forecaster Bob Tobin said the smoke and dust carried in by the wind will likely stick around for a couple days.“We should see some improvement (today),” Tobin said. “I don’t think it’s going to get a whole lot better.”

On Friday Spokane County closed the Liberty Lake ORV Park until further notice because of the high fire danger.

• A new fire exploded Friday evening in Stevens County north of Addy, quickly growing to more than 200 acres.

The Marble Valley fire started near Marble Valley Basin Road and was being pushed northeast by the wind, according to a Department of Natural Resources dispatcher. Tree crowning was reported and the fire jumped Townsend-Sackman Road. Residents in the area were urged to evacuate.

• State fire mobilization was approved for the Reach Complex fire near Chelan on Friday. The series of fires, which may have been caused by lighting, started early Friday morning. By Friday evening the fire was bearing down on the town of Chelan and 250 homes were threatened.

Thousands of people lost power when two substations were brought down by the fire. Multiple evacuations were ordered and the Seattle Times reported that people living in more than 1,000 homes were under level 3 evacuations, which means they were urged to leave immediately. The Wenatchee World reported electricity was out in parts of Chelan, and that the fire had jumped the Columbia River. The newspaper also said several structures were burning in the area Friday, including a warehouse. “We’re pretty much surrounded,” said Chelan Mayor Bob Goedde, the World reported. “Things are a real mess right now.”

• The 37,000-acre Wolverine fire continued to threaten Holden Village, the tiny Lutheran retreat in a valley near Lake Chelan. On Friday crews worked to improve the buffer created around the village. The fire is expected to continue up the Railroad Creek drainage. Campgrounds in the area are closed, as are portions of Shady Pass Road and Big Hill Road.

• The Stickpin fire in remote Ferry County northeast of Republic exploded to 20,000 acres Friday and put hundreds of homeowners on alert that they should prepare to leave if firefighting efforts are unsuccessful. Those living on Boulder Creek Road and Long Alec Creek Road were told to evacuate. Deer-Boulder County Road 602 is closed. Over 500 homes are threatened.

The fire is showing no signs of slowing, said Colville National Forest spokesman Franklin Pemberton. “This is about as bad as it gets,” he said.

• The Tower fire burning near the Washington-Idaho border north of Newport grew to 1,800 acres and forced the evacuation of the Browns Lake, Skookum and South Skookum campgrounds in the Newport Ranger District. It was started by lighting on Tuesday.

• Lightning also started the Not Creative fire burning 4 miles north of Rose Lake along I-90 in Idaho. The fire was estimated at 70 acres Friday evening, a day after it started. Traffic problems have been reported as people on the freeway slowed to watch the flames.

• The 1,900-acre Parker Ridge fire jumped Westside Road on Friday and new evacuations were ordered. The lightning-caused fire north of Bonners Ferry has been burning since July 29.

• In Kamiah, Idaho, a collection of fires called the Lawyer Complex fire grew to 11,000 acres and led to evacuation warnings in the area east of Lewiston, Idaho, along Highway 12. The entire town of Kamiah has been told to pack and prepare for evacuation and residents west of town have been urged to leave.

• South of Ritzville blowing dust led to a fiery crash that ignited brush along U.S. Highway 395 and closed the roadway for hours. Five separate multi-car accidents were reported in the area.

• There’s a fire burning 18,000 acres southeast of Mount Adams on the Yakama Indian Reservation. Called the Cougar Creek fire, it had zero percent containment as the state requested help from the National Guard.

• The Nine Mile fire near Oroville in Okanogan County chased hundreds of people from their homes and burned 10 to 12 structures.

• Two large fires in Oregon have burned through buildings and forced evacuations as strong winds pick up, sending guests of a resort fleeing.

• A fire on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in rural central Oregon exploded to more than 50 square miles Friday, forcing evacuations of a rural subdivision and a resort that had 400 guests booked Thursday night. The fire was expected to keep growing as strong winds push it through dry grassland. Sparks from a passing vehicle started the flames.

• A giant blaze on the Idaho-Oregon border grew to 414 square miles Friday, scorching grassland ranchers need to feed cattle and primary habitat for sage grouse, a bird being considered for federal protection. The Owyhee County Sheriff’s Office recommended residents evacuate several drainages on the southern edge of the fire, and some roads were closed.

• In Glacier National Park a fire spread from just a few acres Sunday to more than 23 square miles Friday. It is uncontained in a remote area of the park, where it has forced some trail closures and is threatening two cabins, fire officials said.