Raging Wildfire Threatens Homes in Washington
Pastor Dale Morgan
Raging Wildfire Threatens Homes in Washington*
Monday October 2, 2006 2:16 AM
BRIDGEPORT, Wash. (AP) - A Raging wildfire in central Washington
threatened several homes Sunday after destroying two outbuildings, fire
officials said.
The wind-driven blaze was burning over 8,000 acres, or more than 12
square miles. It was 25 percent contained Sunday evening, said Dan
Johnson, a spokesman for the Washington State Patrol's fire protection
bureau.
Stiff winds had calmed by Sunday evening, Johnson said.
No evacuations had been ordered. The fire was about a half-mile from the
threatened homes, Johnson said.
It started around 4 p.m. Saturday and is believed to have been sparked
by a downed power line, said Melissa Gannie, a fire protection bureau
spokeswoman.
The blaze was burning near Bridgeport, a town of about 2,000, in steep
terrain in a narrow strip along the Columbia River.
About 100 firefighters were battling the blaze, Gannie said.
Meanwhile, California firefighters were in the final stage of
surrounding one of the biggest blazes in state history, which has burned
254 square miles of brush and timber since erupting Labor Day.
The fire, ignited by someone burning debris, burned mainly in the Los
Padres and Angeles National forests. At one point, it threatened the
Ventura County communities of Ojai, Santa Paula and Fillmore.
The fire destroyed one rural home and damaged another. It also burned a
handful of structures including barns, sheds, an unoccupied cabin and a
camping trailer.