U.S.
Larry Steagall / Kitsap Sun / AP Photo
The massive cloud of smoke began to lift over Washington wildfires on Sunday and the Okanogan complex of wildfires was measured at 374 square miles.
Softer winds on Sunday allowed firefighters to strengthen containment lines around the flames as evacuation orders for affected areas were reduced, a fire information officer assigned to the Okanogan fires said.
The complex includes the Twisp River fire, which killed three firefighters and injured four others on Wednesday night after forcing thousands of households to evacuate in the towns of Twisp and Winthrop.
Suzanne Flory, spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service and the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team said they would not know until late Sunday night or early Monday how much the fire had grown on Sunday, but as of late afternoon, fire activity had been relatively quiet. Visibility and air quality improved Sunday.
The complex of fires burning in one of Washington's poorest counties, was estimated to be about 10 percent contained as of Sunday morning, fire spokesman Dan Omdal said.
Containment does not mean the fire has stopped burning. It means it has run out of fuel to burn in that area, either because it has hit a man-made fire line, a drop from airplanes of fire retardant, a road or a lake.
Some of the land within the fire lines is still burning, but other sections have burned out.
"We call it a wildfire, but much of the fire has been tamed," Omdal said. "We are making progress,"
The good news for Sunday is that less smoke means restrictions on air travel will be lifted and more fire tankers can drop water and chemical retardant, Flory said.
On Sunday evening, the Washington Department of Health said that should nearby wildfires reach the site of a now-defunct uranium mine in Stevens County in eastern Washington, the smoke won't be any more toxic than the standard smoke from a wildfire.
In an announcement, the department said that radioactive materials at the Midnight Mine, which is about three miles northwest of Wellpinit on the Spokane Reservation, “won't exacerbate the dangers of wildfire smoke if the fires overtake the site as the naturally occurring radioactive material stays in its original rock form and does not burn.”
Local officials have downgraded some evacuation notices, allowing some people to return to their homes. Thousands remain under evacuation notices.
Sarah Miller, a spokeswoman with Okanogan County Emergency Management, said residents have been warned to stay ready to leave at any time and to not drive around looking at the fires.
Meanwhile, a new firefighting mobilization center is being set up at Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane to help fight wildfires in Washington state. The base will be the staging area for 20 large fire engines and 10 water takers and will be run by a team from San Diego.
The new firefighting resources come one day after the Obama administration approved Washington Gov. Jay Inslee's request for a federal emergency declaration to help firefighting efforts in the eastern part of the state.
The new fire engines are coming from Utah, Nevada, Arizona and Colorado, Inslee's office said.
All told, 16 large wildfires are burning across central and eastern Washington, covering more than 920 square miles. More than 200 homes have been destroyed, and more than 12,000 homes and thousands of other structures remain threatened.
More than 1,000 people were fighting just the Okanogan Complex of fires on Sunday.
Elsewhere in the West, in Oregon, firefighters have upped containment over the Canyon Creek complex near John Day and Canyon City, according to The Oregonian.
Ignited by lightning, the wildfire has scorched more than 69,600 acres. Still, more than 800 firefighters working to get control over the blaze have achieved 23 percent containment — a 10 percent gain since Friday. Oregon continues to battle 11 large, uncontained wildfires.
Planes and helicopters were making major liquid drops on a wildfire that broke out Sunday afternoon near a ski resort in the San Bernardino Mountains, bringing the first gains against the blaze. It is one 15 wildfires burning across California.
The U.S. Forest Service says the fire near Snow Summit Ski Resort south of Big Bear Lake has grown to 85 acres, but it is 10 percent contained. Water cannons from the ski resort usually used for making snow are being pointed toward the fire.
Earlier Sunday, firefighters were gaining ground against a wildfire that led to the evacuation of thousands of people and destroyed a lodge in Kings Canyon National Park.
In Montana, a fire weather watch posted Sunday warned that gusty winds and low humidity were expected Monday afternoon in Glacier National Park and the Kootenai and Flathead national forest areas. Wildfires have scored thousands of acres in western Montana.
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