More residents told to flee Wash. wildfires
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YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) - Thick smoke from central Washington wildfires kept residents indoors in some communities Wednesday and forced schools to relocate weekend sporting events, as the advancing flames prompted more evacuations and the closure of a major highway.
Thousands of firefighters are battling dozens of wildfires that were sparked by lightning earlier this month up and down the east slope of the Cascades. Some of the blazes are small and in remote areas, but hundreds of residents have been evacuated or warned to be ready to flee near fire large fire complexes burning in the region.
In Kittitas County, authorities ordered new evacuations northwest of Ellensburg due to a handful of fires that had grown to cover 11,590 acres, or 18 square miles, on Wednesday. In the Wenatchee area, nearly 2,000 firefighters were working to contain more than a dozen fires, the largest of which had blackened nearly 14,000 acres, or about 22 square miles.
On Wednesday evening, officials urged residents around the Mission Ridge ski area southwest of Wenatchee to leave their homes because of the rapid growth of the Table Mountain Fire Complex.
A fire spokesman for the nearby Wenatchee Complex fires, Mick Mueller, tells The Wenatchee World that there have been reports of the Table Mountain fires throwing 8-inch chunks of burning bark 6 to 7 miles into the Mission Ridge area.
The newspaper reports that residents of 150 to 200 homes were told to leave.
The wildfires burned close to U.S. Highway 97 on Wednesday, prompting the Washington state Department of Transportation to close a 27-mile stretch of the highway on Blewett Pass. The agency did not say when the highway might reopen.
Dozens of other roads and trails were closed up and down the region.
Officials opened up the Chelan County Fairgrounds in Cashmere as an emergency shelter for large domestic animals in the Squilchuck/Mission Ridge Roads evacuation area. Smaller animals can be sheltered at the Countryside Veterinary Clinic on Ohme Road, free of charge, as long as they have their current vaccinations. More information the shelters is available online.
Overall, fires were burning across some 88 square miles of dry forest, brush and grass in a part of the state that hasn't seen significant rainfall in weeks.
State officials again warned of hazardous air quality in Ellensburg and Wenatchee from thick smoke, advising residents to remain indoors, limit physical activity and keep doors and windows open, and noted that conditions are not expected to improve for several days.
On Wednesday, the Red Cross re-activated its emergency shelter in Wenatchee at the Seventh Day Adventist Church on the corner of 5th and Western. More information on the shelter is available online.
The thick smoke forced Central Washington University to move its Saturday football game against Azusa Pacific University from Ellensburg to Bothell, in what would have been the school's home opener. A Friday night high school game between Wenatchee and Eastmont also was moved to Moses Lake.
Thousands of firefighters are battling dozens of wildfires that were sparked by lightning earlier this month up and down the east slope of the Cascades. Some of the blazes are small and in remote areas, but hundreds of residents have been evacuated or warned to be ready to flee near fire large fire complexes burning in the region.
In Kittitas County, authorities ordered new evacuations northwest of Ellensburg due to a handful of fires that had grown to cover 11,590 acres, or 18 square miles, on Wednesday. In the Wenatchee area, nearly 2,000 firefighters were working to contain more than a dozen fires, the largest of which had blackened nearly 14,000 acres, or about 22 square miles.
On Wednesday evening, officials urged residents around the Mission Ridge ski area southwest of Wenatchee to leave their homes because of the rapid growth of the Table Mountain Fire Complex.
A fire spokesman for the nearby Wenatchee Complex fires, Mick Mueller, tells The Wenatchee World that there have been reports of the Table Mountain fires throwing 8-inch chunks of burning bark 6 to 7 miles into the Mission Ridge area.
The newspaper reports that residents of 150 to 200 homes were told to leave.
The wildfires burned close to U.S. Highway 97 on Wednesday, prompting the Washington state Department of Transportation to close a 27-mile stretch of the highway on Blewett Pass. The agency did not say when the highway might reopen.
Dozens of other roads and trails were closed up and down the region.
Officials opened up the Chelan County Fairgrounds in Cashmere as an emergency shelter for large domestic animals in the Squilchuck/Mission Ridge Roads evacuation area. Smaller animals can be sheltered at the Countryside Veterinary Clinic on Ohme Road, free of charge, as long as they have their current vaccinations. More information the shelters is available online.
Overall, fires were burning across some 88 square miles of dry forest, brush and grass in a part of the state that hasn't seen significant rainfall in weeks.
State officials again warned of hazardous air quality in Ellensburg and Wenatchee from thick smoke, advising residents to remain indoors, limit physical activity and keep doors and windows open, and noted that conditions are not expected to improve for several days.
On Wednesday, the Red Cross re-activated its emergency shelter in Wenatchee at the Seventh Day Adventist Church on the corner of 5th and Western. More information on the shelter is available online.
The thick smoke forced Central Washington University to move its Saturday football game against Azusa Pacific University from Ellensburg to Bothell, in what would have been the school's home opener. A Friday night high school game between Wenatchee and Eastmont also was moved to Moses Lake.
Fire is good for the rebuilding of a forest. This area will be looking good in a few years.
People think I'd run from my own house, in this economy? Get Real. I'd declare the only good tree is a stump and kill em all. One used truck worth of dynamite can make a pretty handy firebreak, whenever you get done. Hosing the roof and walls will take care of the rest.
Maybe this will be a cure for the sick forest. 2/3 Â of the trees in this forest are dead, from insect damage. I hate to see it go, I have collected mushrooms there for years. This spring you could see that the forest was prime for fire.Â
The Naches area to Chinook pas is due. Sad to see but the forest may get better after the fires.
Your article on the wildfires is good EXCEPT where you tell people to stay indoors, limit physical activity and keep all your
doors and windows OPEN? How's that going to work out?
 @Margot That does seem a bit odd...
I'm in Seattle, and I've got the doors & windows shut, AND run the air filters, and I can still detect a hint of smoke in the air...and it's really doing a number on my bronchitis!