Fire north of Omak destroys multiple homes, but its progression has stopped

A fire that started near the Omak, Washington, airport Monday afternoon destroyed multiple homes.

The Greenacres fire died down considerably since its inception Monday night that was worsened due to high temperatures and strong gusts of wind.

Maurice Goodall, the Okanogan County emergency management director, said the fire was last measured at 1,013 acres and zero percent contained, but that the worst is over. The fire was around 500 acres on Monday night.

“Forward progression has been stopped and they are working on putting out little tiny hot spots and so they need to have a line around it and they need to make sure that it’s not going to leave that line,” Goodall said. “So until they are comfortable with having that area like that, they’re not going to call that contained.”

Goodall said no one was injured in the fire. All road blocks were removed by Tuesday morning..

Three to five houses have reportedly burned down, and multiple other structures, such as chicken coops and outbuildings, also were destroyed, Goodall said. Charred power poles are also being replaced, but an exact count of total structures damaged won’t be available until Wednesday.

Airplanes of different makes and models responded to the scene to douse the fire in borate and water. Andy Keith, a local from Omak, said he thought the planes did a lot to temper the fire.

Keith said he thought the fire blackened the air the most between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Monday.

“The wind died down and they really hit it hard and it pretty much went away,” Keith said.

Keith said his family did not have to evacuate, but he knew of people who were forced out.

Leah McCormack, owner of the Sunset Lake RV Park, evacuated Monday during a Level 3 evacuation order. She was safely back in her home Tuesday morning. She can still see smoke from her home, but said she’s in a lot better shape than Monday night because the wind wasn’t blowing as hard.

Goodall expects it may take another couple of days to ensure the fire is completely put out, including all the spot fires and small structures still ablaze, but is confident with the response from firefighters and local law enforcement.

Goodall encourages Okanogan County residents to download Everbridge, the emergency notification system that the county uses to alert citizens of danger or impending threats. He said that’s the easiest way for firefighters and law enforcement to get information out in a fast manner.

He also wants people to trust that they will be informed of when to evacuate, but that they shouldn’t rely on law enforcement and firefighters. He said an element of self-responsibility is needed to make sure no one gets hurt and that people evacuate when they need to leave.

“No. 1 is have a plan and look around,” Goodall said. “Two, is that if you’re not involved, if you’re not being threatened by this fire, a fire, or an incident, stay away. We had a huge problem with looky-loos blocking traffic … They don’t live here. They’re so interested in social media and getting that photo on social media, it just makes a mess.”