Authorities: Extreme fire danger in Northwest US
Pastor Dale Morgan
Authorities: Extreme fire danger in Northwest US*
Wednesday, August 23, 2006 Posted: 1717 GMT (0117 HKT)
DAYTON, Washington (AP) -- Red flag warnings were posted for wide areas
of the Northwest on Wednesday, indicating extreme fire danger as crews
battled spreading wildfires.
A group of wind-driven fires near Dayton in southeast Washington had
raced across more than 15,000 acres, or more than 23 square miles, of
grass, brush, trees and wheat fields.
Thirty-five residents of a nursing home were evacuated Tuesday because
of heavy smoke, and as many as 300 other people were urged to leave
their homes. The fires near town were sparked by lightning on Monday and
fanned by wind gusting to 30 mph.
No homes had burned as of late Tuesday, but some outbuildings and a
couple of vehicles were lost, said Ray Steiger, a spokesman for the
management team on the fire. No injuries were reported, and the main
fires were burning away from this town of about 2,700 people.
Meteorologists predicted scattered thunderstorms, wind and low humidity
in the area Wednesday.
Red flag warnings or fire weather watches also were posted for parts of
eastern Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Nevada and Utah, the National Fire
Information Center said.
An evacuation order was issued Wednesday for 25 to 30 homes in a
subdivision east of Billings, Montana, as a nearby wildfire grew to at
least 3,300 acres, said Mary Apple, fire information officer with the
Billings Dispatch Center. The blaze destroyed two homes, a barn and
several outbuildings Tuesday.
About 190 homes in the Emerald Hills subdivision were ordered evacuated
Tuesday but "not everyone evacuated," Apple said. The fire, fueled by
timber and grass, was reported Tuesday morning; the cause was not yet known.
Oregon's largest wildfire had covered 20,000 acres, or 31 square miles,
since it was started by lightning on Monday in the state's remote
southeast corner.
Crews were bulldozing a line to protect the town of Fields, Oregon,
population 20. The fire was about 6 miles east of town Wednesday morning.
South of Burns, Oregon, two campgrounds on Steens Mountain were
evacuated Tuesday and campers in a third were advised to leave, all
precautionary measures, said Tara Wilson, spokeswoman for the
firefighters. She said the fires were miles from the campgrounds but
could block evacuation routes later.
The National Fire Information Center said wildfires were reported
Tuesday in Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma,
Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Fires also broke out during
the night in the northwest corner of Nebraska.
So far this year, wildfires have blackened 6.8 million acres, or 10,600
square miles, compared to 6.7 million acres at this same time last year,
the center said.