Fire north of Kettle Falls remains mostly uncontained after one week of burning

The 7,000-acre Hope fire near Kettle Falls, Washington, has reached one week since initial detection, with flames still active.

According to a Northwest Incident Management Team news release Tuesday, the fire has reached 15% containment. Wind spread flames on Monday, pushing the fire northward near Cougar Mountain.

Across the affected region, all levels of evacuations are in place. That means some residents should be prepared to leave immediately.

Initially, 75 structures were threatened, said Jodie Schiffman, public information officer for the Hope Fire. Two have been lost.

The Hope Fire began July 8. Since then, high heat and heavy winds worked against containment efforts to bring widen the flames.

Northwest Incident Management Team 8 is hosting a meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Northport. The fire’s cause remains under investigation.